
Q 



Class 
Book 
Copightl^^-i 



COKmilCHT DEPOSIT. 




1 




PROFESSOR I. P. ROBERTS, 

Dean of Instructors in Cereal Crops, in an American Wheat Field- 



/ 

l\}t Ol^r^alfi in Ammra 

BV 

THOMAS F. HUNT 

Professor of Agronomy in Cornell University 




NEW VORK 

ORANGE JUDD COMPANY 

LONDON 

KEGAN PAUL, FRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., Limited 
1904 



THE LIBRARY OF j 
CONGRESS. I 

Two Copies Received 
DEC f^. '^04 

- GopyriKht F-ntrv i 
cuss -"- XXr- Noi 
^COPY A. 



TV 



Copyright, 1904, 

BY 

Orange Judd Company 
All Rights Reserved 



Entered it Stationers' Hall 
London, England 



PREFACE. 

As the title of this book suggests, the cereals have been 
treated principally with reference to their American environ- 
ment, although valuable foreign data have often been included. 
This is especially true with reference to varieties, fertilization, 
culture, harvesting, production, use and marketing of these 
crops. It is not a monograph of experiment station literature. 
The limits of the work have made it impossible to include some 
valuable data. Moreover the author has deemed it his privilege 
to protect the reader by eliminating inconclusive and inconse- 
quential data, which must of necessity accumulate in so large 
an enterprise as that represented by the various agencies for 
research in Agriculture. It is hoped, however, that the reader 
will find herein a fairly comprehensive, although concise, state- 
ment of experimental results as well as of farm methods relat- 
ing to the cereals in America. Reference has usually been 
made to the station rather than to the individual for a number 
of reasons, the most important of which is that in the culture of 
these crops the location is frequently an important consideration. 
With few exceptions, the illustrations in this book have been 
drawn or re-drawn by C. W. Furlong or A. K. Dawson. The 
author wishes to express his grateful acknowledgment to those 
who have given him helpful suggestions, and especially to his 
secretary, Mr. C. C. Poindexter, B. S., O. S. U. 1903, for val- 
uable assistance rendered. 



VI PREFACE 

TO INSTRUCTORS IN AGRONOMY : 

The author recognizes the varying interest of the several 
States in crop production as well as the differences of curriculum 
and of facilities for instruction at the different agricultural 
colleges. He has tried to meet this rather wide requirement 
by a fairly full treatment of all the cereals, which will enable the 
Instructor to omit certain crops or certain portions of a particu- 
lar crop. At the same time the collateral readings and copious 
page references to the original sources of information make it 
possible to enter into a more thorough study of any single crop 
or any special phase of that crop. The discussion of certain 
topics ordinarily not taught in the department of Agronomy has 
been put in smaller type for the benefit of the general reader. 
Cross reference is made to paragraphs in order to facilitate com- 
parative study. 

The method of treatment is in accordance with the recom- 
mendations of the Committee on Methods of Teaching Agricul- 
ture of the Association of American Agricultural Colleges and 
Experiment Stations. 

In all courses of study involving the study of material objects 
it is important to recognize that the student should not only 
study about the thing, but he should study the thing itself. In 
Agronomy the importance of studying the crop in all its en- 
vironments cannot be too strongly insisted upon. The ideal 
condition involves a study of the plant in the field. Unfortu- 
nately this is not always possible, since no systematic course of 
instruction can be planned that will conform with the season of 
crop growth and meet the exigencies of the weather. Practi- 
cums should be supplied that will as far as possible remedy this 



PREFACE Vll 

defect. Neither the substance nor the form of the practicums 
here proposed is vital. The Instructor can modify them to suit 
his needs or plan others along similar lines. Here again the 
author has included more than any single course would probably 
offer, in order that the Instructor may choose such as he re- 
quires or as his facilities may permit. The author is aware that 
the success of his attempt to put this subject into pedagodic 
form is far from perfect. He will, therefore, be grateful to In- 
structors in Agronomy if they will submit to him any criticisms 
or suggestions that may occur to them either as to subject 
matter or method of treatment. 

THOMAS F. HUNT. 

Cornell University, 
Ithaca, N. Y., October i, 1904. 




CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I. 

CLASSIFICATION AND CHOICE OF FIELD CROPS. 

PAGE 

Agriculture ......... i 

Horticulture ......... i 

Agronomy ......... 2 

Field crops, p. 2 ; Number of cultivated species, p. 2 ; 
Classification, p. 3 ; Area and value of field crops 
in 1899 in U. S., p. 3 ; Cereals, p. 4 ; Grasses, p. 6 ; 
Legumes for hay and pasture, p. 6; Legumes for 
seeds, p. 7 ; Forage crops, p. 7 ; Tubers, p. 8 ; 
Roots, p. 8 ; Sugar plants, p. 8 ; Fiber plants, p. 9 ; 
Stimulants, p. 9 ; Medicinal and aromatic plants, 
p. 9 ; Miscellaneous crops, p. 9 ; Staple crops of 
the United States, p. 9; Character of field crops, 
p. 10. 
Beginnings of Plant Culture . . . . . .10 

Possibility of crop production, p. 10; Profitableness 
of a given crop, p. 1 1 ; Choice of crops, p. 1 1 ; 
Specialties, p. 12 ; General farming, p. 12. 
Practicum . . . . . . . . .12 

Collateral Reading 13 

CHAPTER II. 

IMPROVEMENT OF FIELD CROPS. 

Changes in Farm Crops 14 

The Importance of Plant Breeding .... 14 

Maize breeding farm, p. 1 5 ; Application of principle 



CONTENTS 



delayed in plants, p. 15 ; Sex, p. 16 ; Difficulty of 
control, p. 16 ; Seed an embryo, p. 16. 
Examples of Improvement or Modification in Plants . 17 

Examples of definite improvement, p. 18. 
Methods of Improvement . . . . . '19 
Inducing variation, p. 19 ; Influence of environment, 
p. 19 ; Change of seed, p. 20 ; Crossing, p. 21 ; 
Selection, p. 2 1 ; Power of specific forms to repro- 
duce themselves, p. 22 ; Importance of large num- 
bers, p. 23. 

Plant Breeder's Advantage 23 

Practicums ......... 24 

Collateral Reading . . . . . . •25 



CHAPTER III.— WHEAT. 

I. STRUCTURE. 

Relationships . . . . . . . .26 

Roots, p. 26 ; Culms, p. 27 ; Leaves, p. 29 ; Tiller- 
ing, p. 29 ; Organs of reproduction, p. 30 ; The 
true flower, p. 3 1 ; The spikelet, p. 3 1 ; The spike, 
p. 32 ; The grain, p. ss ; The embryo, p. 34 ; The 
endosperm, p. 35 ; Aleurone layer, p. 35 ; The bran, 
p. 35 ; Physical properties, p. 37. 

II. COMPOSITION. 

Composition ......... 38 

Water, p. 38 ; Ash, p. 39 ; Protein, p. 40 ; Gluten, 

p. 41 ; Gliadin, p. 42 ; Glutenin, p. 42. 

Relation of Weight per Bushel to Nitrogen Content . 42 

Influence of Environment on Composition of Grain , 44 

Germination ......... 46 



CONTENTS Xi 

CHAPTER IV.— WHEAT. 

I. BOTANICAL RELATIONS. 

PAGE 

Wheat Genus ........ 47 

Species of wheat, p. 47 ; Einkorn, p. 48 ; Spelt, p. 
49 ; Emmer, p. 49 ; Common wheat, p. 5 1 ; Club 
or square head wheat, p. 51 ; Poulard wheat, p. 
52; Durum wheat, p. 52 ; Polish wheat, p. 54; 
Spring and winter wheat, p. 54. 

II. CLASSIFICATION OF VARIETIES. 

Importance of Variety . . . . . . -55 

Best variety, p. 55 ; Variety names, p. 56; Pedi- 
gree wheat, p. 56; Number of varieties, p. 57 ; 
Variety characteristics, p. 57 ; Variety groups, p. 58. 
Desirable Qualities ....... 59 

Score card, p. 60 ; Market classifications, p. 60 ; 
Soft winter varieties, p. 61 ; Hard winter varieties, 
p. 61 ; Hard spring varieties, p. 62 ; White varie- 
ties, p. 63. 

III. IMPROVEMENT OF VARIETIES. 

New Varieties ......... 63 

Introduction of foreign varieties, p. 63 ; Improvement 
by selection, p. 63 ; Varieties through crossing, 
p. 64 ; Possibility of cross-fertilization, p. 64; Law, 
p. 65 ; Importance as a method of improvement, 
p. 65 ; Finding and testing new strains, p. 66. 

CHAPTER v.— WHEAT. 

I. CLIMATE. 

Conditions of Successful Wheat Culture . ... 68 
Effect of climate upon geographical distribution, 



Xii CONTENTS 

PAGE 

p. 68 ; Effect upon quality, p, 68 ; Effect upon 

growth, p. 68. 
Accumulation of Soil Constituents at Different Stages of 

Growth ........ 70 

Winter Killing . . . . . . . -70 

II. THE SOIL AND ITS AMENDMENTS. 

Choice of Soil . . . . . . . .71 

Effect of change of soil on yield, p. 72. 
Use of Fertilizers . . . . . . . .72 

Indirect fertilization, p. 73 ; Rotation, p. 74 ; Carriers 
of fertilizing constituents, p. 75; Relative impor- 
tance of fertilizing constituents, p. 75 ; Amount of 
fertilizers, p. 76 ; Time and manner of applying 
fertilizers, p. 77. 

Farm Manure 77 

Mulching, p. 78. 

III. CULTURAL METHODS. 

Time of Plowing 79 

Depth of plowing, p. 80 ; Preparing seed bed with- 
out plowing, p. 80. 
Time of Sowing . . . . . . . .81 

Depth of sowing, p. 8^ ; Drilling compared with 
broadcasting, p. 84 ; Quantity of seed per acre, 
p. 85 ; Influence of size of seed, p. 87 ; Treat- 
ment of seed, p. 89; Wheat seeding machinery, 
p. 90. 
Cultivation .....*... 92 

Rolling, p. 92. 



CONTENTS XIU 

CHAPTER VI.— WHEAT. 

I. WEEDS, FUNGOUS DISEASES AND INSECT ENEMIES. 

PAGE 

Weeds .......... 93 

Chess, p. 93 ; Darnel, p. 94 ; Cockle, p. 95 ; Wild 
garlic, p. 95 ; Wheat thief, p. 95 ; Wild mustard, 

P-9S- 
Fungous Diseases ........ 96 

Rust, p. 96 ; Wheat scab, p. 97 ; Loose smut, p. 97 ; 
Stinking smut, p. 97. 
Insect Enemies of Growing Wheat .... 98 

Chinch bug, p. 99 ; Hessian fly, p. 100 ; Wheat bulb- 
worm, p. loi ; Wheat midge, p. loi ; Wheat plant- 
louse, p. 102. 
Insects Injurious to Stored Grain . . . . .102 
Granary weevil, p. 102 ; Rice weevil, p. 102 ; Angou- 
mois grain moth, p. 102; Wolf moth, p. 102. 

II. HARVESTING AND PRESERVATION. 

Date of Harvesting . . . . . . .102 

Stage of maturity on yield, p. 103 ; Influence of ripen- 
ing upon composition, p. 104; Influence of shock- 
ing, p. 104 ; Method of shocking, p. 105. 
Methods of Har\'esting . . . . . . .105 

Self-rake reaper, p. 1 06 ; Self -binding harvester, p. 
106; Header, p. 107; Combined harvester and 
thresher, p. 108. 
Threshing . . . . . . . . .109 

Storing, p. 1 09 ; Elevators, p. 1 1 1 . 



XIV CONTENTS 



CHAPTER VII.— WHEAT. 

I, USES AND PREPARATION FOR USE. 

PAGE 

Uses . . . . . . . . . .112 

Food for domestic animals, p. 112; Source, amount 
and quality of flour, p. 113; Grades of flour, p. 
115; Graham and wheat flour, p. 116; Amount of 
bread from flour, p. 117. 
Milling Machinery . . . . . . .117 

Purifier, p. 118. 
By-products of Wheat . . . . . . .119 

Composition of by-products, p. 119; Food value of 
by-products, p. 120. 

11. PRODUCTION AND MARKETING. 

Wheat Crop of the World . . . . . .121 

Wheat crop of the United States, p, 122-, Progress 
of wheat production, p. 123 ; Center of wheat pro- 
duction, p. 124; Winter wheat and spring wheat, 
p. 124; Production of flour, p. 124; Consumption 
of wheat per capita, p. 125 ; Yield per acre, p. 126. 
Export of Wheat and Flour . . . . . .126 

Imports of wheat, p. 128 ; Commercial grades, p. 128. 

HI. HISTORY. 

Antiquity ......... 130 

Original habitat, p. 130 ; Reasons for culture, p. 130. 
Practicums . . . . . . . . .131 

Study of the spike of wheat, p. 131 ; Method of cross- 
fertilization, p. 131 ; Types of wheat, p. 131, 
Method of Describing Wheat Varieties . . . •133 

Half -grown plant in field, p. 133 ; Mature plant in 



CONTENTS XV 

PAGE 

field, p. 133 ; Mature dried plant in laboratory, p. 
134; The grain, p. 134; Classification of varieties 
of common wheat, p. 135. 
Relation of Color, Hardness, Size, Specific Gravity and 

Contents of Gluten ...... 136 

Quality of flour, p. 136. 

CHAPTER Vni.— MAIZE. 

I. STRUCTURE. 

Name 138 

Fodder, p. 138; Stover, p. 138; Silage, p. 138; Re- 
lationships, p. 138 ; Roots, p. 139 ; Culms, p. 141 ; 
Suckers, p. 142 ; Relation of grain to stover, p. 
143; Inflorescence, p. 144; Tassel, p. 146; Silk, 
p. 146 ; Ear, p. 147 ; Position of the ear, p, 148 ; 
Characteristics of ear, p. 149; Terms descriptive 
of ear, p. 149; Two-eared varieties, p. 150; Barren 
stalks, p. 151. 
Grain . . . . . . . . . » ^5^ 

Shape upon maturity, p. 152. 

CHAPTER IX.— MAIZE. 

I. STRUCTURE. (CONCLUDED). 

Embryo . . . . . . . . • IS3 

Endosperm, p. 153; Aleurone layer, p. 155; Hull, 
p. 156; Color, p. 156; Abnormal growths, p. 157. 

II. COMPOSITION. 

Grain 158 

Fodder and stover, p. 158; Water, p. 159; Ash, 
p. 161 ; Protein, p. 162 ; Carbohydrates, p. 162; 
Fat, p. 162. 



XVI 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER X.— MAIZE. 

CLASSIFICATION AND VARIETIES. 

PAGE 

Species 163 

Pod maize, p. 164; Pop maize, p. 164; Flint maize, 
p. 166. 

Dent Maize 169 

Description of a good dent ear, p. 170 ; List of varie- 
ties of dent maize, p. 172; Classification of dent 
varieties, p. 179 

Soft Maize 180 

Sweet Maize ......... 180 

Number of Varieties . . . . . . .182 

Varieties for silage, p. 182. 
Comparative Yield of Dent and Flint Maize . . .184 



CHAPTER XI.— MAIZE. 



IMPROVEMENT OF VARIETIES. 

Pollination . . . . . . . . .185 

Influence of current cross, p. 185; Degree of close- 
breeding, p. 187; Close breeding, p. 187; Detas- 
seling, p. 188; Crossing, p. 190; Disposition to 
maintain types and' varieties, p. 190. 
Breeding for Composition . . . . . .191 

Breeding for fat, p. 191 ; Breeding for protein, p. 192 
Breeding for starch, p. 192 ; Advantage of breed- 
ing for composition, p. 193; Disadvantage, p. 193 
Methods of Breeding ....... 194 

Breeding plat, p. 194; Field selection, p. 196; Field 
seed and breeding plat seed compared, p. 196. 
Vitality of Seed 197 



CONTENTS XVll 



Importance of testing vitality of seed, p. 197 ; 
Germination, p. 198; Treatment of seed, p. 198; 
Method of testing seed, p. 199; Seed from differ- 
ent parts of the ear, p. 200. 



CHAPTER XII.— MAIZE. 

I. CLIMATE. 

Limited Distribution 202 

Causes limiting distribution, p. 202 ; Influence of 
temperature, p. 204 ; Influence of climate upon 
habit of growth, p. 205 ; Influence of climate upon 
varieties, p. 205 ; Influence of climate upon com- 
position, p. 206. 
Need of Water ........ 207 

Influence of rainfall, p. 207. 

II. SOIL AND ITS AMENDMENTS. 

Soil 208 

Rotation, p. 209 ; Continuous cropping of maize, p. 
209 ; Maintaining the crop producing power of the 
soil, p. 211 ; Influence of organic matter, p. 2 11 ; 
Application of stable manure, p. 212; Use of com- 
mercial fertilizers, p. 213; Relative importance 
of fertilizing constituents, p. 213; Methods of 
applying fertilizers, p. 214; Influence of season on 
efficiency of fertilizers, p. 214. 

Use of Lime . . . . . . . -215 

Indication of need of lime, p. 215; Application of 
lime, p. 216. 

Irrigation . . . . . . . . .217 



XVm CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XIII.— MAIZE. 

CULTURAL METHODS. 

PAGE 

Time of Plowing . . ..... 218 

Depth of plowing, 219; Subsoiling, p. 221 ; Prepar- 
ing ground after plowing, p. 221. 
Depth of Planting . . . . . . . .223 

Listing, p. 224; Time of planting, p. 226; Rate of 
planting, p. 227 ; Influence of rate of seeding upon 
composition, p. 229. 



CHAPTER XIV.— MAIZE. 

CULTURAL METHODS. (CONCLUDED). 

Planting in Hills or Drills . . . . . .231 

Method of Distribution, p. 232 ; Distance apart of 
rows, p. 234; Intercultural tillage, p. 235 ; Injury 
due to weeds, p. 235 
Effect of Stirring the Soil ...... 236 

Root pruning, p. 236 ; Depth of cultivation, p. 237 ; 
Amount of cultivation, p. 239 ; Conservation of 
moisture, — influence due to stirring the soil, p. 240. 
Hilling and Bedding ....... 242 



CHAPTER XV.— MAIZE. 

WEEDS, FUNGOUS DISEASES AND INSECT ENEMIES. 

Weeds 243 

Foxtail, p. 243; Bindweed, p. 243; Cocklebur, p. 
244; Spanish needles, p. 244. 
Fungous Diseases . . . . . . . .244 



CONTENTS XDC 



PAGE 



Maize smut, p. 244 ; Bacterial disease, p. 245 ; Bac- 
terial disease of sweet maize, p. 246 ; Maize rust, 
p. 246; Leaf blight fungus, p. 246. 
Insects .......... 247 

Wireworms, p. 247 ; Cutworms, p. 248 ; White grub, 
p. 248 ; Corn root worms, p. 249 ; Corn root web- 
wonns, p. 249 ; Corn root louse, p. 249 ; Corn 
bill bug, p. 250; Corn ear-worm, p. 250; Stalk 
borers, p. 250. 

Other Enemies 251 

American blackbird, p. 251; The striped prairie 
squirrel, p. 251 ; Crow, p. 251. 



CHAPTER XVI.— MAIZE. 

I. HARVESTING AND PRESERVATION. 

Harvesting . . . • . . . . -252 

Storing, p. 252; Maize fodder, p. 253; Topping, p. 
255; Pulling, p. 256; Silage, p. 257 ; The silo, p. 
257; Losses in the silo, p. 258; Loss of maize 
fodder by curing, p. 259. 

Time of Harvesting 259 

Influence of maturity upon yield, p. 260 ; Upon com- 
position, p. 261 ; Upon digestibility, p. 262 ; Upon 
feeding value, p. 263. 

II. USES AND PREPARATION FOR USE. 

Food for Domestic Animals ...... 264 

Food for human consumption, p. 264 ; Manufactured 
products, p. 265 ; By-products, p. 265. 



XX CONTENTS 



CHAPTER XVII.— MAIZE. 

I. PRODUCTION AND MARKETING. 

PAGE 

Maize Crop of the World 268 

Maize in the United States, p. 269 ; Maize surplus 
States, p. 269 ; Center of maize production, p. 270 ; 
Production per population, p. 270 ; Yield per acre, 
p. 271 ; Export of maize, p. 271 ; Marketing, p. 
272; Commercial grades, p. 273; Grade uniform- 
ity, p. 274. 

II. HISTORY. 

Nativity . . . . . . . . .274 

Value to colonists, p. 275 ; Introduction into Eastern 
continent, p. 275. 
Practicums . . . . . . . . .276 

Description of maize plant, p. 276; The characters 
of the grain, p. 276 ; The characters of the ear, p. 
277; Score card for dent maize, p. 278; Deter- 
mination of commercial grades of maize, p. 279. 
Collateral Reading 279 

CHAPTER XVIII.— OATS. 

I. STRUCTURE. 

Relationships . . . . . . . .280 

The plant, p. 280; Inflorescence, p. 281 ; Grain, p. 
282; Relation of hull to kernel, p. 282; Weight 
per bushel, p. 282. 

II. COMPOSITION. 

Composition 284 

Germination 285 



CONTENTS XXI 



III. VARIETIES. 



Classification . . •. . . . . . 285 

Value of different types and varieties, p. 287 ; Varie- 
ties of oats, p. 288 ; Improvement of varieties, p. 
289 ; Introduction of new varieties, p. 289 ; Cross- 
ing, p. 291. 



CHAPTER XIX.— OATS. 

I. CLIMATE. 

Influence of Climate Upon Distribution .... 292 
Upon distribution and yield, p. 292; Upon physical 
properties, p. 293 ; Need of water, p. 294. 

II. SOIL AND ITS AMENDMENTS. 

Soil .......... 294 

Rotation, p. 294; Influence of fertilizers, p. 295. 

III. CULTURAL METHODS. 

Seed Bed ......... 296 

After treatment, p. 297; Influence of size of seed, p. 
298; Influence of seed selection, p. 298; Seed 
selection, p. 299 ; Mixing varieties, p. 299 ; Sowing 
with other cereals, p. 300 ; Sowing with field peas, 
p, 300 ; Oats and rape, p. 301 ; Treatment of seed, 
p. 301 ; Rate of seeding, p. 302. 
Time of Sowing in Southern States .... 303 

Time of sowing in Northern States, p. 303. 
Depth of Sowing ........ 304 

Methods of sowing, p. 304 ; Method of fall sowing, 
P- 305- 



XXll CONTENTS 

PAGH 

IV. WEEDS, FUNGOUS DISEASES AND INSECT ENEMIES. 

Weeds • . 306 

Fungous diseases, p. 306 ; Insect enemies, p. 307. 

CHAPTER XX.— OATS. 

I. HARVESTING AND USES. 

Time and Method of Harvesting ..... 308 

Use 308 

Oats for human food, p. 309 ; By-products, p. 310. 

II. PRODUCTION AND MARKETING. 

Oat Crop of the World 310 

Oat crop of the United States, p. 310; Progress of 
oat production, p. 311; Yield per acre, p. 311; 
Center of production, p. 3 1 2 ; Export of oats, p. 
312 ; Commercial grades, p. 313. 

III. HISTORY. 

History . . . . . . . . . -3^3 

Practicums . . . . . . . . -314 

Method of cross-fertilization, p. 314; Plant in the 
field, p. 314; Mature dried plant in laboratory, p. 
315; Soil fertility in relation to oats, p. 3 1 5 ; Influ- 
ence of size of seed on early stages of plant growth, 
p. 316; Influence of treatment of seed upon ger- 
mination, p. 316. 
Collateral Reading . . , . . . .317 

CHAPTER XXI.— BARLEY. 

I. STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION. 

Relationships . . . . . . . .318 

The plant, p. 318; Inflorescence, p. 318; Grain, p. 



CONTENTS ^^"^ 



PAGE 



319 ; Hull, p. 320 ; Character of the endosperm, p. 
320; Embryo, p. 321, 

Composition ^^i 

Weight per bushel, p. 321 ; Qualities for malting, p. 
322; Germination, p. 323. 

II, VARIETIES. 

Species . . • • • • • • • 2 o 

Two and six-rowed varieties, p. 325; Winter and 
spring varieties, p. 326; Varieties, p. 326; Breed- 
ing barley, p. 328. 

III. CLIMATE AND SOIL. 

Climate 32^ 

Soil 329 

Rotation, p. 329 ; Manuring, p. 330. 



CHAPTER XXII.— BARLEY. 

I. CULTURAL METHODS. 

Preparation of Seed Bed 33 

Rate of seeding, p. 333 ; Time of sowing, p. 333 ; 
Seed selection, p. 334 ; Harvesting, p. 334; Thresh- 
ing, p. 335- 

II. FUNGOUS DISEASES AND INSECT ENEMIES. 

Fungous Diseases ...••••* 33 
Insect Enemies 33 

III. USE. 

Use ... 337 

Use for malting, p. 337 ; By-products, p. 337. 



XXIV CONTENTS 



IV. PRODUCTION AND MARKETING. 

Barley Crop of the World 2>3^ 

Barley crop of the United States, p. 339 ; Barley crop 
of Canada, p. 339 ; Center of barley production, 
p. 340; Yield per acre, p. 340; Exports and im- 
ports, p. 340 ; Commercial grades, p. 340. 

History . . . . . . . . . .341 

Practicums . , . . ' . . . . . 342 
The plant, p. 342 ; The grain, p. 342 ; Soil fertility 
in relation to barley, p. 343. 

Collateral Reading 344 



CHAPTER XXIII.— RYE. 

Relationships . . . . . . . •345 

The plant, p. 345 ; Composition, p. 346 ; Varieties, 
p. 347 ; Climate, p. 347 ; Soil, p. 347 ; Rotation, 
p. 348 ; Rye as green manure, p. 348. 

Cultural Methods 349 

Enemies of rye, p. 349 ; Harvesting, p. 350; Use, 
p. 3 5 1 ; Rye as a soiling crop, p. 3 5 1 ; By-products, 

P- 352- 

Rye Crop of the World 353 

Rye crop of the United States, p. 353 ; Center of 
production, p. 354 ; Yield per acre, p. 354 ; Com- 
mercial grades, p. 354. 

History 354 

Practicums . . . . . . . . -355 

Influence of specific gravity upon germination, p. 
355 ; The study of the plant, p. 355. 



CONTENTS XXV 

CHAPTER XXIV.— RICE. 

I. STRUCTURE AND VARIETIES. 

PAGE 

Relationships 357 

The plant, p. 358; Grain, p. 358; Composition, p. 
359; Varieties, p. 359. 

II. CLIMATE AND SOILS. 

Climate 360 

Soil 361 

Rotation, p. 361; Fertilizers, p. 362. 

Laying Out the Plantation 363 

Water supply, p. 364; Amount of water required, 

P- 365- 

III. CULTURAL METHODS. 

Preparation of Seed Bed 366 

Sowing, p. 366; Application of water, p. 367; Drain- 
age, p. 368; Cultivation, p. 368. 

IV. ENEMIES. 

Weeds 3^9 

Fungous diseases, p. 370; Insect enemies, p. 370; 
Birds, p. 371. 



CHAPTER XXV.— RICE. 

I. HARVESTING AND USE. 

Time of Harvesting 372 

Method of harvesting, p. 372; Threshing, p. 373; 
Use, p. 373; Preparation for use, p. 374; By- 
products, p. 376. 



XXVI CONTENTS 

PAGE 

II. PRODUCTION AND MARKETING. 

Production of Rice in the World . . . . .378 
Production of rice in the United States, p. 378 ; Yield 
per acre, p. 379 ; Marketing, p. 379. 

III. HISTORY. 

History ........ , 380 

Practicum . . . . . . . . .381 

Study of the rice plant, p. 381. 

Collateral Reading . . . . . . . 38 1 



CHAPTER XXVI.— SORGHUM. 

I. STRUCTURE, COMPOSITION AND VARIETIES. 

Name 382 

Relationships, p. 382 ; The plant, p. 383 ; Inflores- 
cence, p. 383 ; Grain, p. 384. 
Composition ......... 384 

Varieties ......... 384 

Improvement of varieties, p. 386 ; Germination, p. 
387. 

II. CLIMATE AND SOIL. 

Climate .......... 387 

Soil 388 

Rotation, p. 388. 

III. CULTURAL METHODS. 

Preparation of Seed Bed . . . . . '389 

Time of planting, p. 389 ; Rate of planting, p. 389 ; 

Quantity of seed, p. 390 ; Method of planting, p. 

391 ; Cultivation, p. 391. 
Enemies of Sorghum ....... 392 

Time of Harvesting . . . . . , , 392 



1 



CONTENTS XXVll 

PAGE 

Method of harvesting, p. 392 ; Threshing, p. 393 ; 
Method of harvesting broom corn, p. 393 ; Prepar- 
ing broom corn for market, 393. 

IV. USE AND PRODUCTION. 

Use . 394 

Danger from use, p. 395 ; Sorghum sugar, p. 395 ; 
Sorghum sirup, p. 396. 
Sorghum Crop of the World ...... 397 

Sorghum crop of the United States, p. 397 ; Yield 
per acre, p. 398. 
History .......... 398 

Collateral Reading ........ 399 

CHAPTER XXVII.— BUCKWHEAT. 

Name .......... 400 

Relationships, p. 400 ; The plant, p. 400 ; Flowers, 
p. 401 ; Grain, p. 401 ; Physical properties, p. 402. 
Composition . . . . . . . . .402 

Species .......... 403 

Varieties, p. 403. 
Climate .......... 404 

Soil, p. 404; Rotation, p. 405 ; Green manuring, p. 405. 
Preparation of Seed Bed ...... 406 

Seeding, p. 406. 
Enemies . . . . . . . . .407 

Harvesting ......... 407 

Use, p. 407 ; Production, p. 408 ; Yield per acre, p. 
409. 
History .......... 409 

Practicum . . . . . . . . .410 

Description of buckwheat, p. 410; Relation of buck- 
wheat to soil moisture, p. 410. 



L 

CLASSIFICATION AND CHOICE 
OF FIELD CROPS. 

1. Agriculture. — The word agriculture comes from the two 
Latin words ager^ meaning field, and ciiltura, meaning cultiva- 
tion. The strict meaning of the word is, therefore, the culti- 
vation of the field. The sense in which the word is used, how- 
ever, is quite varied. In its widest sense Agriculture consists 
in the production of plants and animals useful to man. It thus 
includes horticulture, forestry and animal husbandry. There 
are also certain manufacturing industries so closely and inti- 
mately connected with the production of the plants and animals 
that they are often included in agriculture, such as butter 
making, cheese making, sugar making, etc. 

2. Horticulture. — The word horticulture comes from the two 
Latin words Jioj'tns, meaning enclosure, yard or garden, and cul- 
tura, meaning cultivation. Horticulture thus means the cultiva- 
tion of the garden. The use of the word in this sense as well 
as the use of the word agriculture in the restricted sense of field 
agriculture is due to the character of Roman Husbandry dur- 
ing the time of the Roman Empire. The farm homestead in 
Roman agriculture was known as the "Villa." This farm 
steading was often an elaborate affair, including many build- 
ings, and enclosures for the growth of fruits and vegetables. 
Outside the villa lay the extensive unenclosed areas on which 
were raised such crops as wheat, barley and some of the 
legumes. The tillage of unenclosed areas was known as agri- 
culture, while the growth of the crops in the enclosed area was 

1 The word acre has the same derivation and originally meant a field of arable 
or pasture land. The acre was limited to its present definite quantity by statutes 
of Edward I, Edward III, and Henry VIII. 



2 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

known as horticulture. In American agriculture, with the enclo- 
sure of all farm lands and large production of animals on these 
enclosed areas, on the one hand, and the extension of the 
growth of fruits and vegetables to large areas, on the other 
hand, these distinctions somewhat disappear. In general, hor- 
ticulture consists in the production of fruits and vegetables. 

3. Agronomy. — Comes from two Greek words meaning the 
use of the fields. Agronomy as here used is restricted to the 
theory and practice of the production of farm crops. The object 
in plant production is to adapt the environment to the anatomy 
and physiology of the plant under cultivation with a view to 
securing crops which are best suited to the uses of man or the 
domestic animals. A full understanding of the means of adapt- 
ing the environment to the development of the plant requires 
not only a knowledge of the anatomy and physiology of plants, 
but it requires a knowledge of the air and soil and their means 
of modification. A study of plant physiology and a study of 
soils should, therefore, precede alike the study of either field 
or horticultural crops. Agronomy differs from botany in that 
botany deals with plants in the natural relationships and environ- 
ments, while agronomy deals with man's relationship to plants. 

4. Field Crops. — Under this head are generally included 
those crops that are cultivated on a somewhat extensive scale 
and are adapted to extensive rather than intensive methods of 
culture. There are exceptions to this rule. Sugar beets are 
classed with field crops, although the methods of culture are 
somewhat intensive, while all varieties of fruit are considered 
horticultural crops, although some kinds are now grown in large 
orchards and under conditions entirely removed from what was 
the case when the term horticulture was first applied. 

5. Number of Cultivated Species. — De Candolle has recog- 
nized 1 98 species of cultivated plants native to the old world 
and forty-seven species of American origin, while there are 



CLASSIFICATION AND CHOICE OF FIELD CROPS 



three of uncertain origin, making the total number of cultivated 
species 248.^ He classifies the species as follows: 

Cultivated for the underground parts 
Cultivated for the stems or leaves 
Cultivated for the flowers or their 

envelopes .... 

Cultivated for their fruits . 
Cultivated for their seeds . 
Cr^'ptogram cultivated for whole plant 



Did World 


New World 


26 


6 


57 


8 


4 





53 


24 


58 


8 





I 



198 



47 



6. Classification. — No classification of the field crops of the 
United States can be made that will be entirely satisfactory, 
and even if it could be made so, would not remain satisfactory 
on account of new uses to which plants are constantly being 
put. The following classification will be used in this chapter, 
viz., cereals, grasses, legumes, tubers, roots, sugar plants, fibers, 
stimulants, medicinal and aromatic plants and miscellaneous 
crops. The following table shows the total area devoted to 
each of these classes of crops and their value as reported by 
census of 1900: 

Area and Value of Field Crops in 1899, in U. S. 



Cereals . , . 
Hay and forage' 
Legumes for the seeds 
Tubers . . 
Roots . . 
Sugar plants 
Fiters . . 
Stimulants 



Area (acres) 

184,994,588 

61,691,166 

1,964,634 

2,938,952 

537,447 

855,995 

26,401,660 

1,101,483 



Value of crops 


Value p'ir acre 


^1,484,231,038 


$ 8.02 


487,125,685 


7-93 


28,308,228 


14.36 


98,387,614 


33-47 


19,876,200 


36.98 


51,367,685 


60.01 


390,879,985 


11.02 


56,993,003 


5174 



> Origin of Cultivated Plants. By A. De Candolle, pp. 436-446. 

2 Of the total area in hay and forage crops, 6.7 per cent was devoted to clover, 
50.7 per cent to tame and cultivated grasses other than clover, 6.3 per cent to 
grasses cut green for hay, 5.1 per cent to forage crops, 3.4 per cent to alfalfa, 
2.8 per cent to millet and Hungarian grasses and 25.1 per cent to wild, salt and 
prairie grass. — TweKth Census, Bui. 237, p. 14. 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



Medicinal and aro- 
matic plants . . . 

Miscellaneous plants . 

Total in field crops 

Total in vegetables and 
fruits 



Area (acres) 

8,591 

234,197 
280,728,713 

8,989,620 



Value of crops Value per acre 



?i43,6i8 

7,670,343 
2,624,983,399 

252,006,611 



$16.72 

I32.79 

9.16 

28.03 



The total area in field and garden crops was approximately 
290 million acres, while the total area of improved land was 
given at 415 million acres. This probably means that 125 
million acres were in pasture. The area devoted to hay and 
pasture was therefore substantially the same as that given to 
the cereals. About one acre in thirty of the cultivated area 
was devoted to fruits and vegetables, while their value was 
about one-tenth that of the field crops. 




Acreage of cereals, Census, 1900. 

7. Cereals. — Any grass grown for its edible grain is called 
a cereal. The term is applied both to the plant as a whole and 
to the grain itself. According to this definition, buckwheat is 
not a cereal. It is, however, generally so classed because (iie 
seed is used in the same manner as the true cereals. 



1 Refers to broom com and hops. 



CLASSIFICATION AND CHOICE OF FIKLD CROPS 5 

The six great cereals of the world are wheat, rye, barley, 
maize, oats and rice. In addition .to these the seed of the millet, 
or non-saccharine sorghum, is used largely by the peoples of 
southern Asia. 



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__; PopuUtio 



The relative Increase in population and production of cereals during 50 years. 

In all ages and in all countries the cereals have occupied the 
bulk of the cultivated area and have formed the principal ingre- 
dient in the dietary of the people, as well as forming an impor- 
tant part of the food of domestic animals. Rye is the leading 
cereal of northern Europe and barley of southern Europe, while 
rice is the leading cereal of Asia. In the United States 'the 
three just mentioned occupy a minor place, while maize, wheat 
and oats occupy by far the largest part of the cultivated area. 
The following table shows the proportion of the area of each 
cereal to all the cereals raised in the United States in 1899:^ 

1 Twelfth Census. Vol. VI, p. 14. 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



Maize 
Wheat 
Oats . 
Barley 
Rye . 
Buckwheat 
Kafir corn 
Rice 



51-3 

28.4 

16.0 
2.4 
I.I 
0.4 
0.2 
0.2 



8. Grasses. — The area devoted to pasture, hay and forage 
crops in the United States is greater than that devoted to any 
other single crop, and the product is of greater value than any 
other. This, however, includes some of the legumes which are 
used for pasture, hay or forage. 

There are about 3500 known species of true grasses, divided 
into about 300 genera. In the United States there are now 
known to be about 1380 species (1275 native and 105 intro- 
duced), divided among 165 genera (140 native and 25 intro- 
duced). W. J. Beal has described 809 native species and 103 
exotic species.^ 

Lamson-Scribner gives the number of the best known and 
most valuable grasses for different purposes as follows : thirty- 
eight hay grasses, thirty-five pasture grasses, fourteen lawn 
grasses, twenty-four grasses for wet lands, twenty grasses for 
embankments, nineteen grasses for holding shifting sands. In 
a number of instances the same grass occurs in two or more 
different classes. 

The principal cultivated grasses for hay are timothy and red 
top, the latter being especially adapted to wet lands, while 
Kentucky blue grass in the northern and Bermuda grass in 
the southern portions of the United States are the principal 
ones used for pastures and lawns. 

9. Legumes for Hay and Pasture. — There are in the legumi- 
nous or pea family about 310 genera and about 5000 species. 



1 Grasses of North America. Vol. II, 1896. 



CLASSIFICATION AND ClIOICK OK !• IKLD CROPS 7 

There are about 250 species in the genus Trifolinm and about 
fifty species in the genus JMcdicago: the two genera to which 
most of the plants used for hay and pasture belong. The cen- 
sus for 1900 reports the total yield of alfalfa hay in the United 
States as slightly larger than that of clover hay from about 
one-half the area. The clover species commonly used for hay 
are common red clover, mammoth red clover, alsike clover and 
crimson clover, of which the first occupies much the largest 
area. The vetch is grown somewhat, principally in the Pacific 
Coast States. The cowpea has become an important forage 
crop in the Southern States. 

All the legumes above mentioned are grown more or less for 
pasturage. In addition, white or Dutch clover in the North 
and Japan clover in the South are distinctively pasture crops. 

10. Legumes for Seeds. — The principal legumes raised for 
their seeds are field beans, field peas, cowpeas and peanuts. 
The soy bean is also attracting some attention as a seed crop 
as well as a forage crop. New York and Michigan are the 
leading states for the production of field beans ; Michigan and 
Wisconsin for field peas ; Georgia and South Carolina for cow- 
peas, and Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama for 
peanuts. 

11. Forage Crops. — In its best signification the word "for- 
age" means any kind of food for animals, whether hay, straw, 
grain, roots, etc. Often, however, it is used to apply to the 
whole plant or portions of plants other than the seeds, and thus 
to those foods containing a large proportion of cellulose or 
crude fiber. 

In a more limited and technical sense a forage crop is an 
annual crop in which the whole plant is used for food. Thus 
maize is a cereal crop when the ears are husked and fed sepa- 
rately, while it is a forage crop when the whole plant is fed 
together either dried or ensilaged. Most of the plants used for 
forage are either grasses or legumes. Among the grasses the 



8 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

principal forage crops are maize, sorghum or Kafir corn, millet, 
oats, barley : among the legumes are cowpeas and soy beans. 
The rape plant is used somewhat as a forage crop. 

12. Tubers. — The only tuber of importance cultivated in the 
United States is the potato. Although the area devoted to the 
crop in this country is small compared to the total area under 
cultivation, yet the large yield of food per acre, the ease with 
which it is prepared for use, and the intensive character of the 
cultivation required, all conspire to make it an important crop. 
It is a relatively still more important crop in Europe, where the 
agriculture is more intensive. 

The Jerusalem artichoke and chufa are also grown in a 
minor way for their tubers. 

13. Roots. — Generally speaking, the climatic conditions do 
not favor the production of root crops in the United States. In 
Great Britain especially, turnips, ruta-bagas and the various 
forms of the beet are grown largely for stock food. These 
crops are quite as important there as maize is in the United 
States, Canada also raises root crops somewhat abundantly. 
The sweet potato is raised extensively in the southern part of 
the United States and is an important article of diet in that 
section. Chicory and cassava are minor crops. 

14. Sugar Plants. — The principal sugar plants are the sugar 
cane and the sugar beet. At the present time the latter fur- 
nishes more of the sugar of the world than the former. In the 
United States the most sugar is produced from the cane. The 
area over which sugar cane can be raised is not believed to be 
large, while the area over which beets can be successfully grown 
for the production of sugar is believed to be much more consid- 
erable. It seems probable, therefore, that the production of 
sugar from the beet will continue to increase until much the 
larger part of the sugar will come from this plant. Sorghum is, 
also, grown for the production of syrup, and hard maple forests 
are maintained both for the production of sugar and syrup. 



4 



CLASSIFICATION AND CHOICE OF FIELD CROPS 9 

15. Fiber Plants. — The principal fiber plants of the United 
States are cotton, flax and hemp. In this country, however, 
flax is mostly grown for its seeds. The cotton plant is by far 
the most important fiber plant in the United States and is 
becoming increasingly the most important source of fiber either 
vegetable or animal in the world. Ramie, jute and sisal are 
also sources of fiber. 

16. Stimulants. — Tobacco is of American origin and has 
been during the whole history of the United States an important 
industry and has constituted an important article of commerce. 
The tea plant is now being grown in a small way in South 
Carolina and, perhaps, elsewhere. Except in Porto Rico, 
Hawaii and other outlying possessions coffee has not been 
raised with commercial success. 

17. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. — Have not been culti- 
vated largely. The following include the more important ones : 
mustard, mint (three species), tansy, pyrethrum (buhach), 
wormwood, valerian and ginseng. 

18. Miscellaneous Crops. — Among the cultivated plants which 
are not included in the foregoing classification are broom corn, 
castor bean, hops, onions, teasel, taro, sunflower seeds, willows 
and pampa plumes. 

19. The Staple Crops of the United States. — x\.re grass, includ- 
ing certain legumes, maize, wheat, oats and cotton. There has 
been a rapid increase in the cultivated acreage of the country 
and some changes in the proportion given to different crops, 
but there is little reason to believe that the time will soon come 
when these will not be the leading crops, at least so far as acre- 
age is concerned. Almost every crop now grown on the farms 
of the United States had been grown to some extent before the 
Revolutionary War. Improvements in methods of culture, har- 
vesting or in machinery for utilizing the crop have brought some 
crops into greater relative importance. This has been notice- 



lO THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

ably true of cotton and it is much to be hoped it may be true of 
sugar beets and alfalfa. 

20. Character of Field Crops. — Prior to the discovery of 
America the field crops of Europe were almost all sown broad- 
cast. In the United States at the present time, more than half 
the field crops are raised by intercultural tillage. Maize, the 
white potato and the sweet potato are of American origin, while 
cotton was not largely raised until the beginning of the nine- 
teenth century. The method of harvesting is also quite dif- 
ferent. What are usually known as the small grains have been 
harvested with the sickle, cradle, reaper and self-binding har- 
vester in successive years and afterwards flailed or threshed, 
while the crops grown by intercultural tillage have been in the 
past mostly gathered by hand. Root crops, the sugar beet and 
potatoes have been added to European agriculture within com- 
paratively recent times. 

21. The Beginnings of Plant Culture. — The six great cereals 
of the world have been cultivated so long that the wild type of 
each can with difficulty be recognized. Of these, wheat, barley 
and rice have been cultivated for more than four thousand 
years, while the cultivation of maize, oats and rye has not been 
traced much more than two thousand years. 

22. The Possibility of Crop Production. — Depends mainly on 
climate and soil. Of these the climate is the more important, 
especially when large areas are considered. Manuring, culture 
or drainage may greatly modify the soil and make it fit for crops 
for which it was illy prepared. There is, however, a marked 
variation in the adaptability of different soils under the same 
climatic conditions. Certain soils are much better adapted to 
wheat and grass than for maize and potatoes, while other soils 
are much better adapted to maize and potatoes. Tobacco is a 
crop that is readily affected by the character of the soil. Plants, 
like animals, have great adaptability: they may become accli- 
mated and do fairly well when neither soil nor climate is like 



CLASSIFICATION AND CHOICE OF FIELD CROPS II 

their native land. Many wild plants show great \itality outside 
their original habitat. Many of our worst weeds are plants 
which have been removed from their original environment. 
Usually, however, it is unwise to attempt the growth of any crop 
which experience has shown to be illy adapted to the climate 
and soil of a given region : at least as a leading crop. 

23. The Profitableness of a Given Crop. — Depends not only 
on the climate and soil, but very largely on the market facilities, 
and, so far as the individual farmer is concerned, largely on his 
tastes, experience and capital. The farming in many parts of 
this country has greatly changed not because of soil exhaustion 
or changes of climate, but because of changes in the market 
demands. Usually, in regions recently settled, where land is 
low-priced and transportation facilities are poor, farmers devote 
themselves to grazing cattle or sheep, or to the production of 
crops like maize and wheat or cotton, which can be readily trans- 
ported long distances. Where the soil and climate are favorable 
wheat has been a favorite crop with new settlers, because a con- 
siderable acreage can be grown with comparatively little expend- 
iture of money or labor, and a money return can be secured 
more quickly than if stock raising be selected as the chief busi- 
ness. As the land advances in value, especially near large 
cities, the production of crops which give a larger money return 
for the acreage and of such as cannot be carried great distances 
without injury becomes more common. 

24. The Choice of Crops. — The general practice is usually 
the safest guide. There are many exceptions to this, but no 
safer rule can be given to one about commencing farming in a 
region with which he has little acquaintance than to follow the 
practice of the most successful farmers in the vicinity, at least 
in the beginning of his work. ( )i\ the other hand, it not infre- 
quently happens that the most profitable farming in a community 
is that by some one who has introduced a new industry or 
sought to give a home supply of some article which has been 



12 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

brought from a distance. A man of special skill and intelli- 
gence may sometimes wisely work against peculiarities of 
climate and soil. It often happens that those who are first to 
see the probable value of a crop new to the region, or first to 
adapt their farming to changing conditions, are much more 
successful than their neighbors. 

25. Specialties. — A wisely selected specialty often gives 
much larger profits than come to the farmer who divides his 
efforts among several branches of farming. The specialty 
farmer ought to learn more about producing and disposing of 
his one crop than if he looked after several. He has a better 
opportunity of making a good reputation and of getting some- 
what higher prices. He may be able to produce more cheaply 
by better use of machinery. Specialties which require most of 
intelligence and skill may give largest profits, with possibilities 

of large losses. 

* 

26. General Fanning. — For most farmers the production of 

several crops is safer and wiser than giving nearly exclusive 
attention to one crop. It usually enables the farmer to dis- 
tribute his labor and that of his employes and teams to better 
advantage throughout the year. It gives the advantages of a 
rotation of crops and, if stock feeding is a part of the system, 
of retaining much of the manurial value of the crops on 
the farm. It is something of a safeguard against poor yields 
and poor prices. It rarely happens that all the crops give poor 
yields, and also bring low prices. The attempt to produce a 
little of each of a large variety of crops on any farm is almost 
always unwise. The safe rule is to give the chief attention to 
one or two or three crops, but not limit the crops to these. 

Practicum. 

27. Relative Importance of Field Crops. — Give each student an outline 
map of the United States such as prepared by the U. S. Weather Bureau. Require 
each to indicate by suitable legend the percentage of area in cereals, hay and forage, 
and fiber crops to total farm area in each State. The data may be obtained from 
census reports or the reports of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



CLASSIFICATION AND CHOICE OF FIELD CROPS 1 3 

28. Collateral Reading. — Corn Plants. Their Uses and Ways of Life, 
By F. L. Sargent. Boston : Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1902. 

Twelfth Census of the United States. Vol. VI. 

Twelfth Census of the United States. Bui. 237. 

Origin of Cultivated Plants. By Aiphonse De Candolle. pp. 447-462. New 
York: D. Appleton & Co., 1902. 



II. 

IMPROVEMENT OF FIELD CROPS. 

29. Changes in Farm Crops. — Probably there is no grain, 
grass, fiber or root crop cultivated in the United States which 
has not been greatly changed since it was a wild plant. In 
recent years many new varieties have been produced, differing 
in marked degrees from those formerly cultivated. Farmers 
generally do not actively interest themselves in the improvement 
of their crops ; are not always careful to maintain them in their 
present standard of excellence. Much less attention has been 
given to the improvement of farm crops than to the improve- 
ment of farm animals. 

30. The Importance of Plant Breeding. — The individual plant 
is the result of two forces ; environment (climate, soil, fertilizer, 
culture, etc.) and heredity (parents, grandparents, etc.). The 
increased yield of a crop by modification of environment, 
although a necessary process to successful agriculture, can only 
be accomplished by an expense more or less considerable. 
Heredity, however, is a silent force, which acts without expense. 
If a plant be discovered that would produce because of the force 
of inheritance only one grain of maize more on each ear than at 
present, it would be capable of increasing the maize crop of the 
United States five million bushels of maize, not next year alone 
but for years to come. This is the significance of improved 
seed. . 

" The vast possibilities of plant breeding can hardly be estimated. It would not 
be difficult for one man to breed a new rye, wheat, barley, oats or rice which would 
produce one grain more to each head, or a corn which would produce an extra 
kernel to each ear, another potato in each plant, or an apple, plum, orange or nut to 
each tree. What would be the result? In five staples only in the United States 
alone the inexhaustible forces of Nature would produce annually without effort and 
without cost ; 



IMPROVEMENT OF FIELD CROPS 1 5 

5,200,000 extra bushels of corn, 

15,000,000 extra biisht-ls of wheat, 

20,000,000 extra bushels of oats, 
1,500,000 extra bushels of barley, 

21,000,000 extra bushels of potatoes. 
"But these vast possibilities are not alone for one year, or for our own time or 
race, but are beneficent legacies for every man, woman or child wlio shall ever 
inhabit the earth. And who can estimate the elevating and refining influences and 
moral value of flowers with all their graceful forms and bewitching shades and 
combinations for color and exquisitely varied perfumes? These silent influences 
are unconsciously felt even by those who do not appreciate them consciously, and 
thus with better and still better fruits, nuts, grains and flowers will the earth be 
transformed and man's thoughts turned from the base destructive forces into the 
nobler productive ones, which will lift him to higher planes of action towards that 
happy day when man shall offer his brother man not bullets and bayonets, but 
richer grains, better fruits and fairer flowers. 

" Cultivation and care may help plants to do better work temporarily, but by 
breeding, plants may be brought into existence which will do better work always, in 
all places and for all time. Plants are to be produced which will perform their 
appointed work better, quicker and with the utmost precision." 1 

31. A Maize Breeding Farm. — A company in Illinois has a 
tract of 27,000 acres upon which they propose, if possible, so to 
breed the standard varieties of maize as to give the greatest feed- 
ing value per acre. They propose to breed maize with var^'ing 
per cents of fat or protein as seems possible by the experiments 
of the Illinois Station.^ If a company had proposed to breed 
Holstein-Friesians whose milk should contain a high per cent of 
butter fat it would not be considered remarkable, yet the definite 
breeding of farm crops is so unusual as to create great interest 
in this new enterprise. The fundamental principles in breeding 
are the same whether applied to plants or animals. The study 
of the principles of breeding especially as they apply to animals 
is a recognized part of courses in agriculture^ No attempt w-ill 
be made in this chapter to discuss these principles but merely 
to point out some of the practical applications to plant breeding. 

32. Application of Principle Delayed in Plants. — A number 
of circumstances have prevented the application of the prin- 

1 Luther Burbank. 

2 In referring to the Agricultural Experiment Stations under government and 
state control the word " Station " only will be used for the purpose of brevity. 



ID THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

ciples of breeding to plants, although they have been applied to 
the breeding of animals for many years. Among the circum- 
stances are the following : 

1. Lack of knowledge of the sexuality of plants until recent 
times. 

2. Difficulty of control in breeding plants. 

3. The selection is made from seeds which are embryos and 
not mature individuals. 

The last two circumstances apply much more to some plants 
than to others. They apply with special force to ordinary field 
crops. 

33. Sex. — The sexes in animals must have been known from 
the earliest times. Camerarius first published experimental 
proof of the sexuality of plants December 28, 1691. It was 
not until after this discovery that the function of pollen and its 
necessity to seed formation was understood. It will be readily 
appreciated that this knowledge did not become general among 
the growers of the staple crops until much more recent times 
and is perhaps still not understood by many. Thus there has 
been more or less systematic breeding of animals for 4000 
years, while the mating of plants has not been practiced for 
more than two hundred years. 

34. The Difficulty of Control in Breeding Plants. — The pollen 
of plants cannot ordinarily be confined, while the male domestic 
animal can be tied up by a halter or confined in a yard. In 
some plants like maize which is wind-fertilized we have no knowl- 
edge of the plant from which the pollen came and consequently 
no knowledge of the characteristics of the sire. In other plants 
like wheat that are self-fertilized two individuals cannot be 
mated without resorting to artificial means. 

35. The Seed an Embryo. — The selection is usually made 
from the seeds. The seed is an embryo, not a mature indi- 
vidual. The characteristics of the mature chicken cannot be 
fully foretold by looking at the egg. The seed must be grown 



IMPROVEMENT OF FIELD CROPS 1 7 

and the plant observed through youth, maturity and old age 
before the characteristics of the individual plant are fully 
known. The individual animals are constantly under the eye 
of the successful breeder. The poorer animals are rejected 
and only the better animals mated. In the case of plants there 
is not only usually no mating, but the mature individual from 
which the embryo is obtained for the subsequent progeny is 
unknown. This is not quite so true of maize as of the other 
cereals, because of the method of harvesting the crop. Even 
if the large ear of maize is a measure of the productiveness of 
the individual maize plant, the character of the sire is unknown. 
In the case of the other cereals, or of potatoes, the size of the 
grain or tuber is no necessary measure of the productiveness of 
the parent. A small grain from a fine, well-bred individual is 
better than a large grain from a poor, indifferently-bred indi- 
vidual. Other things equal, a small tuber from a large hill of 
potatoes is better than a large tuber from a small hill. In case 
the large and small seeds come from equally good heads of 
wheat, which will probably be the case under average con- 
ditions, the large seeds may perhaps give the best results, 
especially as under field conditions the larger size may be of 
advantage in enabling the plant to get a more vigorous start. 
Specific proof of this is, however, lacking. Hays believes it to 
be established that the best heads of wheat, as well as best 
plants, should be selected. In the case of maize the butt and 
tip grains have been found to be substantially equal to the 
middle grains of the ear. (272) To succeed in plant breeding 
the seed must be selected from individuals which possess the 
characteristics it is desired to perpetuate. 

36. Examples of Improvement or Modification in Plants. — 
Many of the modifications which have taken place in plants 
during cultivation by man may be said to be unconscious. At 
least there was no definite plan to accomplish the results 
attained. 



l8 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

A good illustration of unconscious improvement is to be 
found in cabbage, kale, collard, palm borecale, Brussels sprouts, 
kohl-rabi, ruta-baga and cauliflower. These all come from a 
single, somewhat woody, branching perennial {Brassica olera- 
cea L .) which is to be found growing wild on limestone bluffs 
in southwestern Europe. Some are a modification of the leaf, 
as in the cabbage and kale, others of the stem, as kohl-rabi, 
still others of the root, as ruta-baga, while in the cauliflower it 
is the selection of the inflorescence that has caused the peculiar 
modification. Some of these types have twenty or thirty varie- 
ties, so that there are probably over one hundred distinct forms 
from this one wdld type. All of these forms are the result of 
long and patient selection of variations that were considered 
desirable by the gardener without any conscious attempt to 
produce these specific forms. 

37. Examples of Definite Improvement. — The sugar beet is 
an illustration of systematic breeding to bring about a definite 
improvement. In less than a hundred years of systematic 
selection of individuals of known excellence, and by testing 
their ability to reproduce the desired characters, the common 
garden beet, with 6 per cent of sugar, has been transformed 
into the sugar beet, which often contains from 15 to 20 per cent 
of sugar and is otherwise improved. 

By similar methods, wheat, flax, timothy and other farm 
crops are being systematically bred for definite characters. The 
proper method to be employed will be discussed under the crop 
in question. Much greater advance has been made with vege- 
tables and other horticultural crops than with field crops. 

" At the present day species that have been cultivated for many years have 
become, so to say, like wax in the hands of special growers, who mold them and 
fashion them to their taste, obtaining the various modifications of shape, size, 
flavor, etc., demanded by their patrons and the caprices of fashion. "l 

The time will doubtless come when there will be many 
breeders of pure strains of maize, wheat, timothy and other field 

1 Henry L. De Vilmorin. E. S. R., Vol. XI, p. 6, 



IMPROVEMENT OF FIELD CROPS 1 9 

crops, just as there now are many breeders of pure strains of 
domestic animals. 

38. Methods of Improvement. — There are three steps or 
methods in the improvement of plants or animals, viz.: 

A. Inducing variation. 

B. Selection of forms having desired characteristics. 

C. Testing the power of specific forms to reproduce them- 
selves. 

39. A. Inducing Variation. — Variation is the basis of selec- 
tion. Plants must vary or they could not be selected. There 
are two general methods of producing variations, viz.: 

1. Environment, such as soil, climate, space, cultivation, etc. 

2. Crossing. 

40. The Influence of Environment. — The causes of variabil- 
ity cannot be discussed here, but the following facts should 
guide the breeders of plants. 

1. Horticulturists do take advantage of a superabundance 
of food in causing modification or multiplication of parts, such 
as the development of petals from stamens. After this habit 
becomes fixed it will be transmitted in some measure even in 
poor soil. 

2. Nevertheless the most important value of cultivation in 
the case of most plants is to allow the plant breeder or cultivator 
to study indi\'idual forms. It enables him to select the desirable 
forms and reject the undesirable ones. By milking the cow and 
testing her milk we are able to select the best milkers. By 
trotting horses we are enabled to breed those best able to trot. 
Whatever influence milking or trotting may have, the fact 
remains that it makes possible intelligent selection. 

3. The variations selected should be those induced under 
the environment in which we expect to continue to grow the 
crop. If we expect to grow three stalks of maize to the hill in 
general field culture, it is desirable to select the ears for plant- 
ing from maize grown in a similar manner, rather than from ears 



20 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

where but one stalk is grown in a hill. In the latter case the 
size of the ear will not be a criterion of the size of the ear 
where three stalks are grown in a hill. Where it is not possible 
to make selection under field conditions, care should be taken 
to select from among plants under like environment and subse- 
quently subject to field conditions. 

" In selecting sugar beets," says Vilmorin,! " those roots are sought for that are 
straight, long, and free from lateral branches. This is right, for those that are 
branched are more difficult, and hence more expensive, to gather. Now, certain 
growers of beet seed in the north of France once formed the idea — thinking, no 
doubt, in this way to improve their varieties — of growing the plants which were to 
be used as seed stocks in very rich deeply worked soil where they were very much 
crowded together; so much so that i6 to 20, or even more, grew on one square 
meter of ground. The result was that the beet assumed the form, and later the 
length of a whipstock. They were not branched because the roots were very closely 
crowded together. Their sugar content was abnormally high as a result of their 
growing so close together, and the conclusions dravm from the form of the roots 
and their sugar content, as determined in the laboratory, were tainted with error 
because they did not represent qualities truly acquired, but modifications accidentally 
imposed by external conditions. Thus these beets which were declared to be of 
good shape and composition in the laboratory yielded seed which when sown in the 
open field, produced branched roots of only moderate sugar content, because the 
descendants had reassumed their true characters when they were released from the 
restraint which had been artificially imposed upon the parent plants." 

41. Change of Seed. — A frequent change of seed is not 
necessarily a good thing; certainly it is not necessary to obtain 
seed from distant parts of the country for a region whose soil 
and climate are well suited to the crop. If the region is not 
well adapted to the crop frequent new supplies of seed may be 
helpful and even essential. Probably no part of the world is 
better adapted to maize than is much of the central Mississippi 
valley. There would seem to be no good reason for changing 
seed of maize in this region. Much of this same region is not 
equally well suited for the oat crop. The climate is too hot and 
dry. The oats are much lighter than those produced in more 
moist and cool regions. Obtaining seed oats from regions 
where the crop does better may be good business management. 

I E. S. R., Vol. XI, p. 13. 



IMPROVEMENT OF FIELD CROPS 



21 




Influence of crossing as a cause of variation. 

yield in grains of I 00 plants, showing greater 
variation in yield of hybrid wheat than of either 
parent form. The yield of the hybrid is indicated 
by the line marked — x — (After Hays.) 



42. Crossing. — Crossing two unlike forms or two varieties 
may not be a fundamental cause of variation. Some other 
cause must have operated to have produced the two unlike 
forms. In practice, however, crossing is a means of inducing 
variation, so as to enable the breeder to select forms more 
nearly suited to his ideal. This is shown by Hays^ in the 
case of a hybrid between Fife and Blue Stem wheat. 

Some of the plants 
of hybrid wheat yielded 
more and some less 
than any of the plants 
of either the Fife or of 
the Blue Stem. If the 
yield is the character- 
istic desired, then a few 
plants of the hybrid 
were better than either 
of the present varieties. 

Crossing is also employed not only to induce variation but 
to combine two or more desirable qualities in one plant. 

43. B. Selection. — Plants having varied either through the 
efforts of the breeder or otherwise, the next step is to select 
plants having the characteristics desired. " Selection is the 
surest and most powerful instrument that man possesses for the 
modification of living organisms."^ 

The unit of selection is the individual. In the case of wheat 
the unit is not the seed, nor even the head of the wheat, but it 
is the stool containing several heads and many seeds which have 
been produced from a single seed. In the case of the potato it 
is the single hill and not the single potato. However, in plants, 
unlike higher animals, portions may be used for the purpose of 

■^ Willet M. Hays. Plant Breeding. Division of Vegetable Physiology and 
Pathology, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bui. 29, p. 21. 

2 Henry L. De Vilmorin. E. S. R., Vol. XI, p. 19. 



22 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

reproduction and the inheritance of variations in these parts is 
recognized as possible. 

Only useful characters should be selected, because two char- 
acters are more difficult to develop than one ; three more diffi- 
cult than two, and so on. Some characters are mutually 
antagonistic, as extreme earliness and either great size or pro- 
ductiveness. To select wisely requires deep study and good 
judgment. Varieties frequently deteriorate on . account of 
unwise selection. This is especially true of maize, although it 
is the field crop which it is the easiest to select. 

44. C. Testing Power of Specific Forms to Reproduce Them- 
selves. — Having selected a desired form, it is next necessary to 
test its ability to transmit its characters. Even though the sire 
(plant furnishing the pollen) may be known, there is no cer- 
tainty that the plant will transmit the characters which it pos- 
sesses. Different grains from the same head of wheat are 
known to yield unequally. Some variations are easily fixed : 
others require generations of selection before the characters can 
be depended upon. Under ordinary farm conditions the ability 
of individuals to reproduce themselves is not tested, and fur- 
nishes a very important reason why little progress has been made 
in the improvement of field crops. Take timothy, for example. 
A casual inspection of a field of timothy will show that there is 
a great variation in the length of head, the length of stem, the 
amount of leaves and number of stalks per stool. Under the 
usual method no selection is exercised, and no test of the power 
of the transmission of characters is possible. A few experi- 
menters have selected plants (stools) having different character- 
istics and by planting 100 seeds from each plant in rows, one 
seed at a place, have obtained remarkable results. After the 
ability of the plant to transmit its characters has been demon- 
strated, the seed can be rapidly multiplied for field purposes. 

It is well understood by livestock breeders that the best 
individual does not always produce the best progeny. It is a 



IMPROVEMENT OF FIELD CROPS 23 

common expression that this animal is a good breeder or that 
animal a poor breeder. 

At the Ohio State University in 1902, fourteen ears of maize 
of a given variety were selected, and two rows of fifty hills each 
were planted from each ear. The smallest ear, containing next 
to the smallest weight of maize, produced the heaviest yield of 
maize. This ear weighed 14 per cent less than the average 
weight of the fourteen ears and yielded 32 per cent more than 
the average yield of the same fourteen ears. This testing of 
the power of plants to transmit their characteristics is pains- 
taking work, and will form a large part of the work of the 
successful plant breeder. 

45. Importance of Large Numbers. — If a thousand persons 
stand in a row it will be found that most of them are nearly the 
height of the average, while a few are considerably shorter and 
a few considerably taller than the average. The length or 
weight of a number of ears of maize will vary in the same 
manner as shown in wheat. (42) In fact this seems to be a 
universal law of organic beings. Most of them tend to breed 
true to type : a few vary considerably from the type. In order, 
therefore, to make progress in breeding it is necessary to find 
the organisms that have the tendency to vary as desired. Among 
a million organisms there may be only one that possesses the 
required characteristics. The chances of finding the desired 
individual increase as we increase the number from which selec- 
tion is made. The chances of securing satisfactory results are 
increased many fold if 5000 seeds are planted instead of 500. 

46. The Plant Breeder's Advantage. — It has been shown 
that the breeder of animals has the advantage of the breeder of 
plants in that he can more easily control the mating of the 
parents. The breeder of plants has a distinct advantage in 
being able to work with large numbers. 

In the case of livestock only the inferior females can be dis- 
carded, because in working with adults the expense of discarding 



24 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

the adults cannot be afforded. Indeed the number of sires that 
are to be found in the upper end of the curve is so small that 
the sires are apt to be but little if any better than the average. 
In the breeding of animals in practice it is the few inferior 
animals represented by the lower end of the curve that are dis- 
carded. In the case of plants, however, embryo plants (seeds) 
are produced in such abundance and at so small expense that 
only the few at the upper end of the curve which are distinctly 
superior need be saved. Instead of discarding the poorest ten 
per cent, as in the case of animals, only the best five, or even 
one, per cent may be saved in the case of plants. 

Practicums. 

47. To Demonstrate the Law of Variation from Type. — Take one 
hundred ears of maize of one variety. Take weight of each ear in grams, or ounces, 
and mark with gum label. Arrange ears in order of weight. Furnish each student 
with a sheet of cross section paper, five inches square, with twenty sections to the 
inch, or five by ten inches, ten sections to the inch, and have each plot the curve 
indicated by the weight of the hundred ears. If necessary to save time, the 
instructor may have ears weighed and marked in advance of the class exercise. 
Variations in the length of one hundred ears may be shown in the same way. 

Variation in the weight of grains of wheat m^y be shown if facilities for 
accurate weighing are at hand. The larger the number of grains used the better. 

48. Organs of Reproduction. — In order to become familiar with the floral 
parts of wheat and other cereals, furnish each student with several heads of wheat 
in different stages of inflorescence: 

1. Describe ovulary and state changes in size at different stages of maturity. 

2. Describe stigmas, state number of styles and position at various stages of 
maturity. 

3. Describe length and position of filaments at different stages of maturity and 
note manner and mode of attachment of filament to anther. 

4. Describe method by which anthers open and discharge their pollen. De- 
scribe the pollen grain. 

For a portion of this work a high power microscope will be desirable. A two- 
inch, two-thirds-inch and one-sixth objectives will be found suitable. With a large 
class specimens may be prepared by the instructor and placed under one or more 
microscopes and each student allowed to inake examination by turn. 

To show that rye is cross-fertilized, while wheat is generally self-fertilized, a 
similar study of rye may be made. The large anthers and abundant pollen of the 
rye will be found to be the most striking contrast. 



I 



IMPROVEMENT OF FIELD CROPS 



25 



49. Time and Manner of Blooming. — The student may be required to 
watch the opening of the wheat flower and the discharge of the pollen. Hays has 
shown that this whole process may take place in less than an hour in spring wheat 
and that it usually occurs in the early morning hours. 




4-40AM 4-13An, l-SSAM. 4 --I7 A M 4-S5 AM S-OdAM 5-l5A.n S-lflA.M. 

The opening of wheat flowers. (After Hays.) 

50. Collateral Reading. — Selection and Its Effect on Cultivated Plants. 
Henry L. De Vilmorin. Experiment Station Record, Vol. XI, pp. 3-19. 

Plant Breeding. Willet M. Hays. Division of Vegetable Physiology and 
Pathology, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bui. 29, pp. 7-24. 

The Station for Plant Breeding at Svalof, Sweden. By David G. Fairchild. 
Experiment Station Record, Vol. XIII, pp. 814-819. 



III. 

WHEAT. 

I. STRUCTURE. 

51. Relationships. — Wheat belongs to the family of true 
grasses (Gramineac). The Gramijieae are characterized by 
having hollow stems with closed joints, alternate leaves with 
their sheaths split open on the side opposite the blade. Wheat 
is included under the tribe Hordeae, in which the spikelets are 
one to many-flowered, sessile and alternate, thus forming a 
spike. (59) To this tribe belong also rye and barley, as well 
as the cultivated rye grasses {Lolunn pcrenne L. and L. itali- 
aiin Beauv.). This tribe also includes some troublesome weeds. 
Covich grass {Agropyron repe7is Beauv.), a perennial, was 
formerly included in the same genus as wheat. Because of its 
underground stems, or rhizomes, couch grass is difficult to eradi- 
cate and thus becomes a very 
troublesome weed in cultivated 
fields. Darnel {Loliinn teniu- 
Icninni L.) is common in wheat 
W^:^fWiit% fields in Europe and on the 

'i^iiii^v^r^5-3^ Pacific coast in this country. A 

related species (L. remotam) 

Cross section of a grain of wheat through oCCUrS in flaX fields 

embryo showing tips of three rootlets 
before germination. (From microphoto 
graph by Rowlee.) 




52. Roots. — When a grain of 
wheat germinates, it throws out a 
whorl of three seminal or temporary roots. The coronal or 
permanent roots are thrown out in whorls from the nodes. 
The distance between the temporary roots and the first whorl of 
permanent roots will depend somewhat upon the nature of the 
soil, but principally upon the depth of planting. The depth at 



STRUCTURE OF WHEAT 



27 



soil, but is usually about an inch from the surface, irrespective of 
the depth of the grain or of the temporary roots. There is noth- 
ing in the nature of a tap root in any of the grasses such as is 
found in the legumes. Any node under the soil, or even near 
the soil, may throw out a whorl of roots. When wheat is planted 
under ordinary field conditions the roots curv^e slightly outward 
and then descend almost vertically. The more unoccupied soil 
about a wheat plant the more the roots curve outward. As soon 
as the available surface soil is occupied the roots descend. An 
abundance of roots has been observed at a depth of four feet, 
and under favorable conditions they doubtless go much deeper. 
Schubart traced the roots of a winter wheat plant seven feet deep.^ 
Webber found that if the roots of one wheat plant were placed 
end to end they would reach 1,704 feet.^ Near the surface the 
roots branch and re-branch abundantly, filling the soil with a 
mass of roots, the ends of which are covered with root hairs. 
The Minnesota Station found about eight branch roots to the 
inch on the main roots to a depth of eighteen to twenty inches, 
varying in length from one-half inch to twenty inches. Below 
this distance few or no branches were found, suggesting that the 
purpose of these deep roots was to secure water.^ 

53. Culms. — Like the majority of the plants of the grass 
family, wheat has usually hollow culms, but in some varieties this 
space is more or less filled with pith. The greatest variation is 
found in the upper internode, which should be examined in de- 
scribing a variety. The walls of the culm also vary in thickness, 
and the surface varies in color, and may be whitish, yellow, 
purple or brownish. Just below the spike the surface of the 
culm is more or less furrowed. The length varies with type and 
variety. The same variety is variable on different soils, with 
different fertilizers, and in different seasons. The variation in 
length of stem and yield of straw is greater than in size or yield 

1 Agricultural HoUiny. M. C. Potter, p. 170. 

2 Ibid. 

3 Minn. Bui. 62 (1899), p. 405. 



28 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

of grain. It would not appear that there is any necessaiy re- 
lation between the length of straw and the yield of grain, although^ 
all other things equal, the longer the culm, the greater the yield 
of grain. The club varieties of wheat grow about two feet high, 
while common wheat varieties grow to a height of from three to 
five feet ; probably the average height is four feet. 

The length of the culm has an important influence upon the 
liability to lodge, and also influences the ease of harvesting. It 
seems probable that the yield of straw may affect the loss in soil 
fertility, especially if the straw is not returned to the soil. On 
land of good average fertility the Ohio Station produced ninety- 
five pounds of straw for each bushel of wheat during a period of 
ten years' continuous culture without fertilizers ; 115 pounds per 
bushel where a complete commercial fertilizer was used, and 1 1 1 
pounds per bushel where farm yard manure was used annually.^ 

During the early growth of wheat the nodes are very close 
together and consequently the plant consists principally of leaves. 
This condition obtains until the wheat begins to shoot, which 
consists of the lengthening of the internodes and the pushing up 
of the spike. The leaves which were formerly bunched together 
within a foot of the surface of the ground are now scattered 
along the culm, and in field conditions are comparatively 
scanty, and apparently inactive, except near the top of the culm, 
even at the time of blossoming. As the weight of the starch, as 
well as other material laid up in the seed subsequent to this 
time, is large, and as no starch is found laid up in the leaves 
prior to this time, as in some other plants, the question has been 
raised as to tfie ability of the active leaves to elaborate so much 
starch in so short a time. In fact, during the latter part of the 
ripening period only the glumes and the upper part of the stem 
remain green. Investigations indicate that the glumes do not 
have the capacity to form carbohydrates from the air, while the 
upper part of the stem has such power.^ 

1 Ohio Bui. no, p. 47. 

2 Ann. Agron. 28 (1902), No. 10, pp. 522-527. (E. S. R., Vol. XIV, p. 634.) 



STRUCrURE OF WHEAT 



29 



54. Leaves. — There are four parts of the wheat leaf that 
should be distinguished : (i) the blade, which may vary in 
length and width, in shape, in smoothness, and in the promi- 
nence of its veins ; (2) the sheath, which, as in all plants of the 
family, clasps the stem tightly and 

is split down the side opposite the 
blade ; varies in growing plant from 
green to purple ; (3) the ligule, a 
thin, transparent tissue borne at 
the juncture of the blade and 
sheath and clasping the culm, vary- 
ing in length from .07 to .1 of an 
inch (1.7 to 2.5 mm.^); and (4) 
the leaf auricle, thin projections 
of tissue, outgrowths from the base 
of the leaf blade varying in color 
and hairiness. 

55. Tillering. — Inasmuch as 
buds form in the axis of the leaves, 
by covering with earth, both roots 
and culms (branches) will form at 
any node upon the culm. Ordi- 
narily, however, branches form only 
at the lower nodes. The number 
of branches which can form from 
a single culm is necessarily lim- 
ited, but each branch may produce a limited number of 
branches and these branches in turn other branches, so that 
under favorable conditions several dozen culms and conse- 
quently spikes may be produced from a single seed This is 
known as tillering and is one of nature's methods of giving the 
plant power to adapt itself to its environment. Under ordinary 
field conditions only a comparatively few culms form, but 

» The Description of Wheat Varieties. By Carl S. Scofield. U. S. Dept. of 
Agr., Bureau of Plant Ind. Bui. 47, p. 12. 




A wheat leaf, showing I , blade, 2, 
sheath, 3, ligule, and 4, auricle. 
(About natural size.) 



3° 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



at least fifty-two spikes have been produced from a single 
seed. 

The " stand " of wheat may be materially affected by the 
amount of tillering, and, therefore, a study of those conditions 
which will promote tillering is advisable. On the other hand, 
it is probable that the best yields are not obtained where too 
much tillering is encouraged through thin seeding. 

" In starting from the seed the stem soon begins to branch. The first leaves 
which are sent up seem to bs a temporary set of organs designed to quickly reach 
above the soil, that the plant may be supplied with green cells in the sunlight. 
These leaves form what appears to be the primary shoot of the plant, and spring 
from the stem near the seed. They are found to be 
dead in the spring, along with the germ whorl of 
roots, in case of several varieties of winter wheat. 
At the same point where these first leaves arise 
another stem, apparently a rhizome, branches off 
from the primary stem. This rhizome has an inter- 
node quite unlike all the other lower internodes, not 
even covered by the sheath of a leaf, and extending 
about half way to the surface of the soil. In case 
the seed is planted two inches deep this rhizome is 
about one inch long. At the top of this internode 
a joint bears a leaf, and a few other joints follow at 
very short intervals, each having a bud in the axil of 
its leaf." 2 

56. The Organs of Reproduction. — 

The flower of the wheat plant has three 
stamens. The anthers are attached to 
the tapering end of the thread-like fila- 
ments below the middle. As the flower 
opens the filaments rapidly elongate, 
pushing up and outside of the glumes the 
anthers which previously were closely packed about the ovu- 
lary.^ The attachment of the filament to the anther is such 
that the anther suddenly upsets and the pollen falls out of 

1 Neb. Bui. 32, p. 91. 

2 Minn. Bui. 62 (1899), p. 407. 

3 Note: The word ovulary is here used in its proper sense, instead of the term 
ovary which is so often incorrectly used. 







A stool of wheat. 
Culms are from a single seed 
originally at 
natural size. 



One-third 



STRUCTURE OF WHEAT 



31 




the slits which are formed in the upper end of the two com- 
partments. This process takes place apparently in a very short 
space of time. (49) The ovulary is one-seeded and is sur- 
mounted by two feathery stigmas which prior to the opening of 
the flower are erect and adjacent. As the flower opens the" 
stigmas fall apart to receive the pollen. 
Pollination being eflfected, the stigmas soon 
wither and the ovulaiy rapidly enlarges. 
The development of the ovule (seed) from 
the period of flowering to maturity is very 
rapid and emphasizes the importance of 
proper soil and climatic conditions at that 
time. (49) 

57. The True Flower. — The ovulary, 
stigma and stamens are enclosed within 
two chaffy parts, the inner of which is called 
a palea and the outer and lower the 
flowering glume. These parts collectively 
constitute the flower of the wheat. The 
awn or beard is borne on the flowering 
glume and varies greatly in length in differ- 
ent varieties or even in the same spike, or 
may be entirely wanting. In some varieties 
the awns are deciduous or partly so upon 
ripening. They vary in color from very 
light yellow to black. 




Organs of reproduction 
in wheat : a, ovulary ; 
i, styles and stigmas ; 
c, anthers ; li, filaments 
of stamens. Upper 
left illustration shows 
flower before opening ; 
upper right illustration 
shows flower about to 
open and protrude an- 
thers. (After Hays.) 



58. The Spikelet. — Two to five flowers are enclosed within 
two chaffy and still harder parts called empty or outer glumes. 
This is called collectively a spikelet. There is considerable 
variation in the number of flowers maturing seed, due to variety 
and environment. In the varieties of common wheat there are 
generally three or more flowers in each spikelet, which usually 
matures two or three grains, — more commonly two. The outer 
glumes differ from those in rye by being oval rather than awl- 



32 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 




shaped. They vary considerably with variety and thereby fur- 
nish means of distinguishing varieties. They may vary in color 
from light yellow to black, uniformly or in streaks, may be 
smooth or hairy (sometimes called velvety), may vary in shape 
and length. The keel varies in width and distinctness and its 
tip or beak in length and sharpness. The 
shoulder, which is that portion of the glume on 
either side of the keel, and its tip (auricle) vary 
in width and shape and the notch between the 
auricle and the keel varies in depth or may be 
wanting. Thd apical glumes, i. e., the outer 
glumes of the apical spikelet, vary from the other 
outer glumes and should be separately described. 

59. The Spike. — These spikelets in the grass 
family are arranged in two ways, viz., on a more 
or less lengthened branch or rachilla, as in the 
oat, when the whole head is called a panicle ; 
or joined directly to the stem (i. e., by a very 
short rachilla), as in wheat, rye and barley, 
when the head is called a spike. (51) In wheat, 
rye and barley, as in several other species of 
the grass family, the spikelets are arranged alternately at the 
joints of the zigzag jointed stem or rachis, the stem being 
excavated on the side next the spikelet. In the wheat genus 
{Tritiann L.) there is but one spikelet at each joint and 
it is placed flatwise, usually on a single spike. There is 
usually borne on the rachis at the base of each spikelet a growth 
of short bristly hairs, to which Scofield has given the name of 
basal hairs. ^ These may be either white or brown in color 
and may vary in length or be wanting. Often in the cultivated 
varieties and always in the wild species, the lower one to four 
spikelets are sterile. The empty glumes are somewhat broader 
than the flowering glumes. The number of spikelets in a spike 



Front and side 
view of spike- 
let, showing 
mode of at- 
tachment to 
rachis. 



I U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bureau of Plant Ind. Bui. 47, p. 14. 



STRUCTURE OF WHEAT 33 

varies widely with the variety, soil, climate and culture. In 
this country a good spike of wheat will usually contain from 
fifteen to twenty fertile spikelets and contain from thirty to fifty 
grains. There is a marked difference between the length of 
the spikes of English and American grown wheats. In the 
United States the length of the spike varies from three to four 
and a half inches, a common length being three and three- 
fourths inches. Hallet has reported raising a spike of wheat 
eight and three-fourths inches long and containing 123 grains 
produced by five years of selection and favorable environment 
from a spike four and three-eighths inches long and containing 
forty-seven grains. Investigations by Lyon seem to show no 
relation between average weight of grain and the number on 
the spike. 

The yield of wheat is affected by four factors, viz., (i) the 
number of spikes per a given area, (2) the number of spikelets 
in a given spike, (3) the number of grains in a spikelet, and 
(4) the weight of the grain. While there is no probability that 
such results as were reported by Hallet can be obtained in this 
country, it seems that the most hopeful method of increasing 
the yield is by increasing the number of spikelets in a spike. 

The spike varies in compactness and in form. When viewed 
sidewise it may be straight or curved ; may taper toward apex, 
both ways or have uniform sides, or may be clubbed at the 
upper end. The tip may be acute on account of undeveloped 
spikelets or blunt because they are well filled. The base of the 
spike may be tapering or abrupt for similar reasons. When 
viewed endwise the spike may be square, flattened with spike- 
lets or flattened across spikelets. 

60. The Grain. — The wheat grain is a unilocular, dry, in- 
dehiscent fruit called a caryopsis, with a thin membranous 
pericarp adnate to the seed, so that pod and seed are incorpo- 
rated in one body. The grain is longer than broad, hairy at 
the apex, slightly compressed laterally, has a deep furrow on 



34 



THE CKREALS IN AMERICA 



the side opposite the embryo, causing a deep infolding of the 
pericarp or bran, which makes the roller process of milling a 
superior method. It is characterized by a small embryo, and 
a large development of endosperm from which the flour is 
obtained. Bessey estimates the cubic contents of a wheat 

grain to be from 
twenty to thirty cu- 
bic millimeters, of 
which fully thirteen- 
fourteenths are filled 
with starch cells, the 
embryo occupying 
no more than one- 
fourteenth of the 
space.' 

6i. The Embiyo. 

— The embryo can 
be divided into (i) 
scutellum, or absorb- 
ent organ, which on 




c¥) gp (^ ^ '«x(^-^(X) 'X) (D (D - 
A mG) Q Q)- 

Progressive sections of grain of wheat tal(en at the three 
axes as indicated, showing shape of grain and position 
and ratio of (jr) embryo to (j/) endosperm. (From 
microphotographs by Rowlee.) 



germmation causes 
the dissolution of the endosperm and then transfers it to (2) the 
vegetative portion. This vegetative portion contains in mini- 
ature the first leaves and roots of the new plant. The embryo 
contains a relatively high per cent of ash, protein and fat, and 
considerable quantities of soluble carbohydrates (sugar), but 
probably little if any starch. About one-sixth is fat or oil and 
about one-third is protein, the two thus constituting one-half of 
the embryo. The proteids of the embryo differ also from those 
of the endosperm in the ease with which they undergo changes. 
Osborne has found the embryo to contain about 3.5 per cent 
of nucleic acid.^ 

' Neb. Bui. 32, p. 103. 

2 Conn. Rept. 190 1, pp. 365-430. 



i 



STRUCTURE OF WHEAT 35 

62. The Endosperm. — Under the microscope the endosperm 
is seen to consist of large elongated thin-walled cells, with their 
longer axis usually at right angles to the surface of the grain. 
These cells are filled with starch granules varying in size and 
form, but when full grown they are rounded or oval in shape 
and reach a diameter of thirty-seven micromillimeters, or 675 to 
the inch.^ The composition of the flour shows the presence of 
ash and proteids, although under the microscope usually starch 
only can be seen in the mature ^rain. M. E. Fleurent has 
separated the endosperm from the rest of the grain and has 
subdivided it into three portions from the center outward.^ 
There was a material variation in the per cent of gluten in the 
endosperm of different varieties and a marked variation in 
successive portions from center outward, both in the per cent of 
gluten and the proportion of glutenin to gliadin. (70) Proceed- 
ing from center outward, the per cent of gluten varied in a French 
variety from 7.37 to 9.51, in an Indian variety from 8.03 to 10.24, 
and in a Russian variety from 10.88 to 13.22. The per cent of 
flour was largest (73.02 per cent) in the Indian variety and 
least (67.25 per cent) in the Russian variety. 

63. The Aleurone Layer. — The endosperm, along with the 
embryo, is enclosed in a single row of comparatively large cells 
rather regular and rectangular in tranverse or cross section. 
When viewed perpendicular to the surface these cells are 
irregular in form. The cells are filled with a substance similar 
in composition and physical properties to that found in the 
embryo, and are referred to as aleurone or gluten cells. The 
gluten of wheat flour does not come from the aleurone layer 
but from the endosperm. 

64. The Bran. — The aleurone layer is enclosed in the 
nucellus, which in the mature wheat grain is a single layer of 
collapsed cells or may be wanting. This is enclosed in the 

1 Neb. Bui. 32, p. log. 

2 Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci., Paris, 126 (i8g8), No. 22, pp. 1592-1595. 



36 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



unripe grain within two layers of cells, the inner and outer 
integuments of the ovulary. In the mature grain the inner 
integument may have been absorbed, leaving only the outer, 

known as the testa. 
The testa is in turn 
enclosed by the peri- 
carp, corresponding 
to the pod in the 
pea. The pericarp 
is composed of three 
rows of cells and con- 
stitutes a rather larger 
portion of the grain 
than do the testa and 
nucellus together. 
These envelopes are 
sometimes spoken of 




Cross section of grain of wheat on the left. (From micro- 
photograph by Tolman.) Transverse section, on the 
right, of an unripe grain enlarged about 100 times 
from drawing by Bessey. I , ovary wall or pericarp ; 
2, outer integument ; 3, inner integument; 4, remains 
of nucellus ; 5, aleurone cells ; 6, starch cells. 



collectively as the bran. Bessey ^ and Snyder ' 
portions of the wheat grain as follows : 

Embryo . . . . . ' . 

Aleurone layer ..... 

Endosperm ...... 

Seed covering or bran .... 



give different 



Per cent 

6- 7 

3- 4 
82-86 

5 



Girard gives the per cent of embryo in four varieties of wheat 
as 1.50, 1.4 1, 1.35 and 1.16 respectively.^ 

Since the mill products of wheat average considerably less 
than nine per cent crude fiber, and since seventy per cent of a 
wheat grain is converted into flour, it follows that the seed 
coats of the wheat grain must either be considerably less than 

1 Neb. Bui. 32, p. III. 

2 Harry Snyder: The Chemistry of Plant and Animal Life, p. 278. 

3 Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci., Paris, 124 (1897), p. 87S. 



STRUCTURE OF WHEAT 37 

five per cent or the seed coats must be largely composed of 
something else than crude fiber. 

65. Physical Properties. — Richardson found as the result of 
377 determinations that there were about 12,000 grains in a 
pound of wheat : in some samples there were less than 8,000, 
while in others 24,000 grains to the pound. Obviously, so far 
as individual grains are concerned, one bushel of seed in the 
one case would be equivalent to three bushels in the other. 
Pammel and Stewart report variations in the specific gravity of 
American grown varieties from 1.146 to 1.5 18. 

The hardness of the grain varies greatly. Generally the 
harder grains contain the higher per cent of total nitrogen and 
of gluten. The relation between hardness and specific gravity 
has not as yet been clearly demonstrated, although Lyon has 
shown that high specific gravity is associated with low nitrogen 
content.^ 

Komicke and Werner ^ state that the specific gravities of the 
various chemical constituents of the wheat grain are as follows : 
Starch, 1.53; sugar, 1.60; cellulose, 1.53; fats, 0.91-0.96; gluten, 
1.30; ash, 2.50; water, i.oo; air, .001293. 

The standard (and generally legal) weight per bushel (2150.42 
cu. in.) of wheat is sixty pounds. The weight of a measured 
bushel not infrequently varies from fifty-five to sixty-five pounds 
per bushel, and greater extremes have been noted. 

The color of the grain varies from a very light yellow through 
varying grades of amber to dark red. Hardness of grain and 
high nitrogen content are usually associated with the deeper red 
color. 

The grain may vary in length, in transverse or cross section 
outline, or in depth of crease or furrow. All of these characters 
may be used in describing varieties of wheat. (201) 

1 A Method for Improving the Quality of Wheat for Breadmaking. Thesis for 
degree Ph.D., Cornell, 1904. 

2 Handbuch des Getreidebaues Bd. 2s. 120. Berlin, 1884. 



38 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



COMPOSITION. 



66. Composition. — The following table gives the minimum, 
maximum and average analyses of 3 1 o American grown samples 
of grain and seven samples of wheat straw : ^ 





Grain 


Straw 




Min. 


Max. 


Aver. 


Min. 


Max. 


Aver. 


Water 


7-1 


14.0 


10.5 


6.5 


17.9 


9.6 


Ash 


o.S 


^.6 


1.8 


3-° 


7.0 


4.2 


Protein (N x 6.25) 


8.1 . 


17.2 


11.9 


2.9 


5.0 


34 


Crude fiber .... 


0.4 


3-1 


1.8 


34-3 


42.7 


38.1 


Nitrogen-free extract 


64.8 


78.6 


71.9 


31.0 


50.6 


434 


Fat 


1-3 


3-9 


2.1 


0^ 


1.8 


1-3 



67. Water. — The analyses show that wheat contains ten to 
eleven per cent of water. This represents the moisture in the 
samples as analyzed, often after they have stood in the dry 
room of the laboratories. What percentage of water wheat 
contains as it goes on the market cannot be stated, but it has 
been shown to vary largely from day to day with varying con- 
ditions of the atmosphere. In California, where the atmosphere 
inland is very dry at harvest, this subject is a matter of consid- 
erable commercial importance. It is claimed that the moisture 
that this California wheat will absorb during a voyage from San 
Francisco to Liverpool will sometimes increase its weight enough 
to pay the entire cost of freight. Wheat bought inland and 
kept in warehouses all the season would increase in a similar 
manner upon exposure. 

Experiments by Hilgard and O'Neil, of the University of 
California, indicated that wheat of the inland of California 
might increase twenty-five per cent in weight by the absorption 
of water when transported to a temperate climate, while a gain 
of five to fifteen per cent might be looked for with absolute 
certainty. A difference of nine per cent was observed in 
twenty-four hours. Brewer found a difference of from five to 

1 U. S. Dept. of Agr., Office of Exp. Stations E. S. B. 11. 



COMPOSITION OF WHEAT 39 

eight per cent of water in wheat in a room in which the moist 
air of New Haven circulated in September and in February 
when the room was heated by a furnace. Richardson found 
that two days were sufficient to equalize the moisture in samples 
of flour which originally varied from less than eight to over 
thirteen per cent. Afterward the water in the samples fluctu- 
ated with the humidity of the air. 

68. Ash. — Lawes and Gilbert give the average composition 
of the ash of the grain and straw of wheat on an unmanured 
plat during twenty years as follows ; ^ 

Grain Straw 

Ferric oxide 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Potash . 

Soda 

Phosphoric anhydride (P2O5) 

Sulphuric anhydride (SO3) 

Chlorine .... 

Silica .... 

Total 

Deduct 0=C1 . 

Total . 

Fifty per cent more phosphoric acid than potash is laid up 
in the grain, while in the straw five times as much potash as 
phosphoric acid is accumulated. A relatively large amount of 
magnesia is stored in the grain, while relatively more lime is to 
be found in the straw. More than two-thirds of the ash of straw 
is silica. Formerly it was^.held that the silica helped to stiffen 
the straw. This view is no longer held, since the accumulation 
of silica is greater in the upper portion of the stem. 

It has been shown that the ash constituents of normally 
ripened seeds of wheat are remarkably uniform, but vary some- 

1 Jour. Am. Cheni. Soc. Vol. XLV (1888), p. 100. 



0.645 


0.69 


3-175 


5-075 


10.48 


1-525 


33-345 


15-355 


0.18 


0.265 


50.065 


3.10 


1.42 


3-84 


0.05 


2.13 


0-655 


68.505 


100.015 


100.485 


.015 


.485 


100.00 


100.00 



40 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

what with the season, as does the nitrogen, on account of irreg- 
ularities in the ripening of the seed, and only slightly on account 
of different modes of manuring except in cases of abnormal soil 
exhaustion. From three plats manured as indicated in the table 
below, Lawes and Gilbert found the average annual yield of total 
mineral constituents during sixteen years to be as follows : ^ 

In Grain In Straw Total 

Lb. Lb. Lb. 

By farm yard manure . 36.3 20T.1 237.4 
Without manure . . 16.6 89.5 106.1 

With ammonium salts alone 23.0 119.2 142.2 

Where ammonium salts alone were used the grain showed 
exhaustion both of potash and phosphoric acid — especially the 
latter, while in the straw there was a marked deficiency of the 
former. 

69. Protein. — In 310 analyses of American grown wheats 
compiled to September ist, 1890, the protein (N x 6.25) varied 
from 8.1 to 17.2 per cent, with an average of 11.9 per cent in 
samples containing an average of 10.5 per cent water, or in 
other words, the protein was 13.3 per cent of the dry matter of 
the grain. Koenig reports the range in protein of the wheat 
grain from various parts of the world to be from five to twenty- 
four per cent, but that seventy-five per cent of all analyses fall 
within eight to fourteen per cent. ^ 

The nitrogenous compounds of wheat consist principally, if 
not wholly, of proteids, of which five have been recognized and 
studied by Osborne and Voorhees as follows:^ (i) a globulin, 
0.6-0.7 per cent of the grain ; (2) an albumin, 0.3-0.4 per cent ; 
(3) a proteose, 0.2-0.4; (4) gliadin, 4.25 per cent; and (5) 
glutenin, 4-4.5 per cent. (71, 72) 

1 Jour. Am. Chem. See. Vol. XLV (iSS8),p. 20. 

2 U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. of Chem. Bui. 4, p. 69. 

8 The Proteids of the Wheat Kernel. By Thomas B. Osborne and Clark C. 
Voorhees. Am. Chem. Jour. XV (1893), pp. 392-471. 



COMPOSITION OF WHEAT 4I 

70. Gluten. — Wheat flour has the property in common only 
with rye flour of forming a dough when mixed with \\'ater which 
on leavening and baking produces a porous bread. This is due 
to the gluten which imprisons the carbonic acid gas caused 
by the fermentive action of the yeast. The gas expanding 
during leavening and during baking causes the bread to become 
porous. 

Gluten is a mixture of gliadin and glutenin and may be 
obtained in a crude state from wheat meal or flour, by washing 
the dough made by kneading the meal with water, which re- 
moves starch and other non-gluten compounds. Moist gluten 
contains about sixty-six per cent of water and certain other 
impurities which are in fairly constant proportions in different 
samples. A good gluten has a light yellow color, is tenacious 
and elastic, while poor gluten is dark in color, is sticky but not 
elastic. ' 

" The gliadin with water forms a sticky medium, which by the presence of salts 
is prevented from becoming wholly soluble. This medium binds together the par- 
ticles of flour, rendering the dough and gluten tough and coherent. The glutenin 
imparts solidity to the gluten, evidently forming a nucleus to which the gliadin 
adheres and from which it is consequently not washed away by water. Gliadin and 
Starch mixed in the proportion of i : 10 form a dough, but yield no gluten, the gliadin 
being washed away with the starch. The flour freed from gliadin gives no gluten, 
there being no binding material to hold the particles together so that they may be 
brought into a coherent mass. 

" Soluble salts are also necessary in forming gluten, as in distilled water gliadin 
is readily soluble. In water containing salts it forms a very viscid, semi-fluid mass, 
which has great power to bind together the particles of flour. The mineral con- 
stituents of the seeds are sufficient to accomplish this purpose, for gluten can be 
obtained by washing a dough with distilled water." 

The amount and quality of gluten — especially the latter — is 
what gives the flour its baking qualities. The quality of the 
gluten is due in part at least to the proportion of gliadin and 
glutenin. M. E. Fleurent states that the most favorable ratio of 
glutenin to gliadin is twenty-five of the former to seventy-five 
of the latter. He gives analyses of two varieties which are in 
the ratio of 23 : 77 and 30 : 70 respectively, and suggests that 



42 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

the breadmaking value of the flour may in such cases be 
increased by mixing in proper proportions the wheat or the 
flour made therefrom.^ Snyder states that the most valuable 
wheats for breadmaking are those in which eighty to eighty- 
five per cent of the protein is gluten and the gluten is composed 
of thirty-five to forty per cent glutenin and sixty to sixty-five 
per cent gliadin. He reports a variety of wheat from India 
with a ratio of 27:73 and one from the Argentine Republic 
with a ratio of 58 : 42.^ The value of a flour depends, therefore, 
more relatively upon the quality of the gluten than upon the 
per cent of the nitrogenous compounds contained. 

71. Gliadin. — With water containing salts or mineral matter gliadin is a 
plastic substance which may be drawn out into sheets or strings. By proper chem- 
ical manipulation it may be reduced to a snow-white powder. When distilled water 
is added to this powder it becomes sticky, but if a ten per cent solution of salt 
(sodium chloride) is added, it is non-adhesive, although plastic. Gliadin is soluble 
in distilled water, very soluble in seventy to eighty per cent alcohol, but is insoluble 
in water containing salts or in absolute alcohol. It is soluble in dilute acid 
and alkalis and may, therefore, be soluble in wheats that have undergone fermen- 
tation. 

72. Glutenin. — Is the proteid which is left after dissolving the gliadin from 
the gluten with dilute alcohol. It is distinguished from gliadin by its lesser sol- 
ubility, its darker color, and by being non-adhesive and non-plastic. It is insol- 
uble in water, saline solutions and dilute alcohol, but is soluble in dilute acids and 
alkalis, from which it may be precipitated by neutralization. 3 

73. Relation of Weight Per Bushel to Nitrogen Content. — 
The usual and commercial standard of quality in wheat is the 
weight per bushel, high weight being associated with qualities 
desired by the miller. The following table gives the results of 
eight favorable seasons for wheat and eight unfavorable seasons 
with three conditions of fertility at Rothamsted : * 

1 Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci., Paris, 126 (1898), No. 22, pp. 1592-1595. 

2 The Chemistry of the Wheat Plant, pp. 276-277. 

3 The Proteids of the ^Vheat Kernel. By Thomas B. Osborne and Clark C. 
Voorhees. Am. Chem. Jour. XV (1S93), pp. 470-471. 

4 Lawes, Sir J. B., and J. H. Gilbert. On the composition of the ash of wheat, 
grain and straw, grown at Rothamsted in different seasons and by different manures. 
London (1SS4), pp. 105. 



COMPOSITION OF WHEAT 



43 



Influence of Season and Fertilizers Upon Wheat. 







Grain 


Grain 


Straw 


Nitrogen 


Ash 




Wt. per 
bu. lb. 


to 
straw 


per 
acre 


per 
acre 


in dry 
matter 


(pure) 
in dry 






Per cent. 


lb. 


lb. 


Per cent. 


mat'r% 


Average of eight favor- 
able harvests : 














Plat 2 — Farm yard 

manure 
Plat 3 — Unmanured 


62/) 
60.5 


62.5 
67.4 


2342 
1 1 56 


6089 
2872 


^■73 
1.84 


1.98 
1.96 


Plat loA — A m m o - 
nium salts alone . 


60.4 


66.2 


1967 


4774 


2.09 


1.74 


Average of eight unfa- 
vorable harvests : 














Plat 2 — Farm yard 














manure . 
Plat 3 — Unmanured 


574 
54-3 


54-5 
51.1 


1967 
823 


5574 
2433 


I.q6 
1.98 


2.06 
2.08 


Plat loA — A m m o - 














nium salts alone . 


537 


46.7 


1147 


3601 


2.25 


1.91 



It will be seen that in seasons unfavorable for the yield the 
weight per bushel was light but the nitrogen content as well as 
the ash content was high, and on the other hand that in seasons 
of favorable growth the weight per bushel was high and the 
nitrogen and ash content were low. In these cases, covering a 
series of years and several conditions of fertilization, high weight 
per bushel was associated with large percentage of starch. 
Lawes and Gilbert conclude that " High percentage of nitrogen 
is by no means a characteristic of the wheats held in highest 
estimation either by the miller or the baker ; and that so far as 
both the baker and consumer are concerned the condition of 
nitrogenous matters is of more importance than their total 
amounts. Comparing one description of wheat with another, 
the one with a relatively high percentage of nitrogen may be 
better, provided the grain be at the same time fully ripened and 
not too horny. But when the percentage exceeds a certain 
limit, the grain is generally either too hard, or there is deficient 
storing up of starch and an unfavorable condition of the nitrog- 
enous substances." 



44 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

74. Influence of Environment on Composition of Grain. — En- 
vironment is a combination of influences of which the following 
three are the most important : 

1. Climate. 

2. Soil, including fertilizers of all kinds. 

3. Culture, including preparation of seed bed, time and 
method of seeding and quantity of seed, etc. 

It has been shown that the composition of the wheat grain 
varies in different localities when grown from seed of a common 
origin. For example, Richardson found that the per cent of 
protein in a number of varieties of wheat was considerably 
higher when grown in Colorado than when grown in Oregon. 
He also found that the grains of wheat were much larger when 
grown in Oregon than when grown in Colorado. Deherain 
makes a similar observation with regard to the influence of 
different seasons. High temperature during July (in France) 
increased the per cent of protein but diminished the yield so that 
the amount of the protein was no greater than under normal con- 
ditions. The high per cent of protein in the hard spring wheats 
of the northwest is likewise attributed to the arrested develop- 
ment of the endosperm or starchy portion of the grain. 

Richardson attributes the variation in the per cent of protein 
to the differences in soil and attributes low per cent of protein 
found in some American wheat to a deficient supply of nitrogen. 
Lawes and Gilbert state that the low percentage of nitrogen is 
more probably due to the enhanced formation of starch under 
the influence of high ripening temperatures, and that, comparing 
the grain grown from the same description of seed but on 
different soils, or in different seasons, high percentage of total 
nitrogenous matter is almost invariably coincident with inferior 
ripening. Wiley attributes the variation in per cent of protein 
to climatic conditions, but attributes variation in the ash occur- 
ring in the same varieties of wheat to the soil and fertilizers. ^ 

1 Influence of Environment on the Composition of Plants. By H. W. Wiley. 
Yearbook, Dept. of Agr., 1901, p. 306. 



COMPOSITION OF WHEAT 45 

Carleton believes that localities with black soils (high in organic 
matter) and extreme climatic variations are most fa\orable for 
the production of high protein content. William E. Edgar says : 

" Gradually as the northwestern States have become cultivated the original 
hard \vheat has grown scarcer. Wheat raised on virgin lands has a peculiar 
strength lacking in that produced in older fields. It is capable of improving the 
character of other wheat blended with it when the mixture is made into flour." 1 

Lawes and Gilbert, in an elaborate series of analyses of wheats 
grown on unmanured and variously manured plats during twenty 
seasons, have shown the variation in composition of wheat to be 
much more influenced by season than by manuring. There was 
very little variation in the mineral composition of the wheat grain 
accorded to manuring except in cases of abnormal exhaustion. 
Commenting upon the significance of the facts presented, the 
authors say : 

" The character of development of a crop left to ripen, depends very much more 
upon season than upon manuring. Indeed, if one crop (of wheat for example) grows 
side by side with another of exactly the same description, but yielding under the influ- 
ence of manure twice the amount of produce, and both under such conditions of 
season that each fully and normally ripens, the composition of the final product, 
the seed, will be very nearly identical in the two cases. In other words, there is 
scarcely any difference in the composition of the truly and normally ripened seed. 
But, as variations of season affect the character of development, and the conditions of 
maturation, there may obviously be, with these, very wide differences in the com- 
position of the product. The wide range in the composition of the ash of the grain, 
which the table shows according to season, represents in fact a corresponding 
deviation from the normal development." 2 

The climatic condition which seems most uniformly to affect 
the composition of the grain is the length of season of growth. 
The shorter the season of growth, the higher the percentage of 
protein and the lower the percentage of starch. Doubtless the 
shorter the season of growth, the smaller the grain. 

It does not follow that strains may not be selected which will 
contain high per cents of protein and at the same time produce 
more protein per acre, although the facts stated above suggest 
that difficulty may be found in doing so. 

1 The Story of a Grain of WTieat, p. 126. New York, D. Appleton & Co., 1903. 

2 Lawes and Gilbert on the composition of the ash of wheat-grain and wheat- 
straw, p. 8. 



46 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

75. Germination. — Wheat absorbs upon germination from 
five to six times its weight of water. Various experimenters 
have reported that dilute solutions of fertilizers and other salts 
accelerate germination. The salts dissolved in soil water prob- 
ably exert a favorable influence. Whether this is a physical or 
physiological influence has not been proven, but it has been 
shown that absorption of water goes on as rapidly in dead seeds 
as in live ones.^ 

More concentrated solutions used to prevent smut have in 
some instances been reported injurious. Much less injury is 
done by soaking the seeds in the solution before sprouting than 
by bringing the solution in contact with the young plantlet. It 
has been shown that nitrate of soda and muriate of potash when 
used in too large quantities or not properly distributed in the 
soil may destroy germination, while fertilizers composed of lime 
and phosphoric acid are much less injvirious.^ In no case should 
the seeds be brought in direct contact with nitrate of soda and 
muriate of potash. 

Sachs gives the minimum and maximum temperatures at 
which wheat will germinate as 41° F. and 108° F., and the most 
favorable temperature as 84° F. Haberlandt reports that 
wheat germinated at 4 1 ° F. at the end of six days, that the max- 
imum temperature of germination was between 88° and 100° F., 
and that the most favorable temperature was somewhere between 
61° to 88° F.'^ 

Saunders determined the viability of three varieties of wheat 
during six years with the following average results : 80 ; 82 ; 77; 
37; 15; 6 per cent.^ The germination ability showed a marked 
decrease at the end of four years, and at the end of six years 
was entirely lost in two of the three varieties. 

1 Wyo. Bui. 39, p. 44. 

2 U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. of Bot. Bui. 24. 

3 Landw. Vers. — Stat. XVII, 104. ' 

4 Can. Expt. Farms Rpt. 1903, p. 44. 



1 



IV. 

WHEAT. 

I. BOTANICAL RELATIONS. 

76. The Wheat Genus (T^'zVzV;/;// L.). — The plants of this 
genus are all annuals. The commonly cultivated species have 
apparently been so changed from the wild type as to be depend- 
ent upon man's agency for their existence. Sir John Lawcs 
was wont to say that if man should disappear from the earth 
wheat would follow him in three years. This is true, also, of 
the common field bean, maize, tobacco, and a few other less 
commonly grown species. 

Hackel divides the genus into two sections, viz., ^gilops 
L. and Sitopyros} In the former the glumes are flat or 
rounded on the back, while in the latter they are distinctly 
keeled. To the latter section belong the cultivated species. 

77. The Species of Wheat. — There are eight cultivated types 
of wheat which are usually considered of greater value than the 
variety t>'pe. Hackel recognizes but three true species and the 
other types are treated as subspecies.^ 

The structural relationship is much closer between TV. 
sativum and Tr. polonicinn than between TV. inonococcinn and 
either of the former. The palea of Tr. monococcmn falls into 
two parts at maturity, while in the other two species the palea 
remains entire. T)'. sativum spclta and TV. sat. dicocciim are 
to be distinguished from the other four subspecies of sativum by 
the grains remaining enclosed in the glumes upon threshing 
and by the rachis breaking up at maturity. The common and 

1 In the following division into species and subspecies Hackel has been followed. 
See The True Grasses. By Edward Hackel. Translated from Die Naturlichen 
Pflanzenfamilien by F. Lamson-Scribner and Effie A. Southworth, pp. 179-187. 

a Ibid. 



48 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



club wheats are closely related to each other, as are likewise 
the poulard and durum wheats. Einkorn never, and the polish 
wheat rarely, gives rise to a fertile cross with common wheat. 
The subspecies of Tr. sativum readily cross Avith each other. 
The relationship of the eight types is shown in the following 
outline : 

monococcum (i) einkorn 

spelta (2) spelt 

dicocciiDi (3) emmer 



Triticnni - 



sativum — ^ 



tcnax- 



' vnlgare (4) common 
wheat 

compactiiui (5) club 
or square head wheat 

tnrgidiini (6) poulard 
wheat 




dnrniii (7) 

^polonicum (8) polish wheat 

78. Einkorn (7"r. mojiococc?im L.). 



durum 
wheat 



-This 
species may be distinguished from the other 
species by the palea falling into two pieces at 
maturity. The joints of the rachis readily 
separate as in the case of the wild species 
of this genus. Usually only the lower flower 
of the spikelet matures. Each spikelet is 
awned and the spike is compact. The wild 
type is scarcely distinguished from the culti- 
vated type. It is cultivated somewhat in 
Europe in poor and rough places unsuited for 
other varieties of wheat. Its cultivation is of 
great antiquit>', as is proven by finding the 
(One-half natural size.) grain in the Lake dwellings belonging to the 



Einkorn 



BOTANICAL RELATIONS OF WHEAT 



40 



\^ 



Stone Age. It is used for mush and cracked wheat, and as 
fodder for cattle, rather than for bread. 

79. Spelt (7>. satiinnn spclta Hackel). — Was largely and 
widely cultivated in ancient times. Hackel states that it was 
the chief grain in Eg)^pt and Greece and was 
cultivated everywhere throughout the Roman 
Empire and distributed through its colonies. 
It is now sparingly cultivated in Europe except 
in northern Spain, where it is still an important 
crop. At present it is used almost exclusively 
as a stock food. It is not cultivated in this 
country except in an experimental way. There 
are both winter and spring varieties, but the 
winter beardless spelt, a white-spiked, awnless 
variety, is said to be the most profitable. 
Under ordinary conditions the yield is not 
equal to common wheat. Hackel states that 
it is more certain, liable to fewer diseases and 
not at all subject to the attacks of birds. 
Carleton says that it is especially liable to 
rust. He gives its desirable qualities as power 
to hold the grain in the spike, constancy in Speit. 
fertility, and hardiness of certain winter (One-haif natural size.) 
varieties.^ The brittleness of the spike is an undesirable quality. 

The Garton Brothers (England) have obtained good results 
by crossing spelt on common wheat to prevent shattering at 
harvest. 

80. Emmer {Tr. sat. dicoccum Hackel). — Hackel states that 
this subspecies has been "cultivated from the most ancient 
times but always more sparingly than spelt and at present (1885) 
only in S. Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Servia and Italy." 
Carleton (1900) says: "Very little, if any, true spelt is grown in 

1 The Basis for the Improvement of American WTieats. By M. A. Carleton. 
U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. Veg. Phys. and Path. Bui. 24, p. 34. 



so 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



Russia, though a rather large quantity of emmer is produced 
each year." This species is often incorrectly called spelt in the 
United States and the two species are thus sometimes confused. 



"The plants of this species are pithy or hollow, with an inner wall of pith; leaves 
sometimes rather broad, and usually velvety hairy ; heads almost always bearded, 
very compact, and much flattened on the two-rowed sides. The appearance in the field 

is therefore quite different 
from that of spelt. The 
spikelets, however, look 
considerably like those of 
spelt, but differ principally 
in the presence always of 
a short pointed psdicel. 
This pedicel, which is really 
a portion of the rachis of 
the head, if attached at all 
to the spelt spikelets, is 
always very blunt and 
much thicker. Besides, the 
emmer spikelets are 
flattened on the inner side, 
and not arched as in spelt, 
so that they do not stand 
out from the rachis as the 
spelt spikelets do, but lie 
close to it and to each 
other, forming a solidly 
compact head. The spike- 
lets are usually two- 
grained, one grain being 
located a little higher than 
the other. The outer chaff 
is boat-shaped, keeled, and 
toothed at the apex. The 
grain is somewhat similar 
to that of spelt, but is 
usually harder, more com- 
pressed at the sides,' and 
redder in color. 
" For the production of new varieties by hybridization emmer has qualities 
similar to those of spelt, but still more valuable. At the same time emmer, besides 
possessing harder grain, is more resistant to drought, and usually rather resistant 
to orange leaf rust. It is well adapted for cultivation in the northern States of the 
Plains and has already proved very valuable as a hardy forage plant in that regipHj 




Common wheat : Turkish red variety on the left; Red 
Fultz variety on the right. 



BOTANICAL RELATIONS OF WHEAT 



51 



besides giving a good yield of grain per acre. Almost all varieties are spring 
grown. Of other countries emnier is cliiefly cultivated in Russia, (iermany, Spain, 
Italy and Servia, and to some extent in France. The emnier of this country is de- 
scended from seed originally obtained chiefly from Russia, wliere a considerable 
portion of the food of the Volga region is a sort of gruel ( " kasha " ) made from 
hulled and cracked emmer. 

" The desirable qualities furnished by this group of wheats are: 

(i) Power of holding the grain in the head. 

(2) Drought resistance. 

(3) Resistance to orange leaf rust. 
" The undesirable qualities are: 

(i) Brittleness of the head. 

(2) Adaptability only for spring sowng."l 

81. Common Wheat {JFr. sat. vulgare Hackel).-^As the 
name implies, this is the subspecies commonly grown throughout 
the wheat growing districts of the world. Its high yielding power 
and its excellence for breadmaking are the special qualities 
which have made it the leading cultivated sort. 

82. Club or Square Head Wheat (TV. sat. 

covipactnvi Hackel). — This subspecies differs 

from common wheat principally in the shortness 

and compactness of the head and the shortness 

(usually about two feet) and stiffness of the 

straw. It is less liable to shatter before or 

during harvest and less liable to lodge than 

common wheat, and is thus especially adapted 

to the Pacitic Coast States and those Rocky 

Mountain States where the wheat stands on 

the tield for some time after it is ripe and is 

cut with combined header and thresher. Aside 

from the regions named it is cultivated chiefly 

in Chile, Turkestan and Abyssinia. There are both spring and 

winter varieties. The latter are adapted only to comparatively 

mild climates. The quality of the grain does not differ materially 

from that of the softer varieties of common wheat. 



Club wheat. 
(One-half natural size.) 



1 The Basis for the Improvement of American \\lieats. By RL A. Carleton 
U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. of Veg. Phys. and Path. Bui. 24 (1900), pp. 34-35. 



52 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



83. Poulard Wheat (TV. sat. turgidmn Hackel). — This sub- 
species is not grown in this country except in an experimental 
way. It is grown chiefly in the hot dry regions bordering the 
Mediterranean and Black Seas. It is frequently called English 
wheat, although it is not grown in England. It is so closely 
allied to durum wheat as to be hardly distinguished from it, 
especially in some varieties. It differs chiefly in having a 
broader spike, shorter beards, shorter and less dense grains 
and stiffer straw. Some varieties of this subspecies have 
branching spikes and are known as Egyptian wheat or the 
wheat of miracle (TV. compositiim L.). TV. conipositiim is 
simply a sport and is of no value. 

84. Durum Wheat {Tr. sat. durum Hackel). — The varieties 
of this subspecies are commonly referred to in this country as 

macaroni wheat, be- 
cause they have been 
principally used in 
Europe for the manu- 
facture of semolina, the 
manufactured material 
from which macaroni 
and other forms of edi- 
ble pastes are produced. 
Durum wheat is supe- 
rior to common wheat 
for this purpose on ac- 
count of its higher 
gluten content and 
greater density. The South Dakota Station has shown that 
bread of fine flavor with a dark color somewhat resembling rye 
bread can be made from it. Millers generally avoid buying 
it for ordinary bread flour. It is hoped that the manufacture of 
macaroni may be stimulated in this country, which it is believed 
would increase its use, because freshness is an important 




Curing semolina in the open air. 
Factory of F. Scaramelli Fils, Marseilles, France. This 
firm exports large quantities of macaroni to the 
United States. 



BOTANICAL RELATIONS OF WHEAT 



53 



attribute of high class macaroni. Heretofore most of the maca- 
roni has been imported, the domestic article not having been alto- 
gether satisfactory. This has been due in part, it is believed, 
to lack of good macaroni wheat and in part to lack of technical 
skill in the manufacture of the semolina.^ 

" The macaroni wheats are tall, 
with broad, smov)th leaves. The heads 
are heavily bearded, being much more 
so than any of the ordinary wheats, and 
the plant when bearded has much the 
appearance of barley. The heads are 
large and vary in color from light yellow 
to almost black, depending upon tlie 
variety. The kernels are large, very 
hard, having less starch than common 
wheat. They vary from light yellow 
to reddish yellow in color. The habits 
of growth of durum wheats adapt them 
to regions of light rainfall. They have 
great ability to withstand droutli and 
heat but require a rich soil, although 
they are notably tolerant of alkali. In 
some mild climates durum wheats are 
sown in the fall, but generally they are 
grown as spring wheat." 2 

The natural habitat of 
durum wheat is about the 
same as that of poulard wheat. 
In Spain it is more largely 
grown than any other type. 
It is also grown considerably 
in South and Central .Vmerica, 
whence it has found its way into Texas under the name of 
Nicaragua wheat. Another variety has been grown successfully 
in parts of the Northwest and Canada under the name of Wild 
Goose. The varieties of durum wheat tested at the stations have 

1 Manufacture of Semolina and Macaroni. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bu. of PI. Ind. 
Bui. 20. 

a Neb. Bui. 7S, p. 4. 




Durum wheat. 
(One-half natural size.) 



54 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



come principally from Russia and Algeria. The former seem 
to be superior to the latter, which suggests that the best results 
will be obtained in more northerly portions of the semiarid 
section of this country. 

The durum wheat does not tiller as freely as common wheat. 
The South Dakota Station recommends six pecks of seed where 
five pecks of common wheat are used. Otherwise the culture of 
durum wheat is similar to that of common wheat. 

85. Polish Wheat {Tr. polonicum L). — This species may be 
distinguished from the common varieties of wheat by the palea 
of the lowest flower, which is half as long as the flowering glume, 
while in the latter the palea is as long as its 
glume. In the polish wheat the outer glumes 
are as long or longer than any of the flowering 
glumes, while in the common varieties the 
outer glumes are shorter. The grains of polish 
wheat are large and somewhat resemble rj^e, 
which accounts for the wheat being sometimes 
called Giant or Jerusalem rye. The glumes 
are blue-green, the spikelets rather long, close 
to rachis, giving spike a striking appearance. 
This wheat is cultivated somewhat in southern 
Europe, but is ordinarily not considered pro- 
ductive. It is believed by Carleton to be 
adapted to the arid districts of this country. 
It is adapted for the production of macaroni 
but not for breadmaking. 

86. Spring and Winter Wheat. — There are 

Polish wheat. . ■ • r ii 1 

(One-half natural size.) Spring and wmter varieties of all the species 
and subspecies of wheat except emmer, which 
is a spring variety only. Linnaeus divided common wheat into 
two separate species, calling winter wheat Tr. hybernum and 
spring wheat Tr. oestivnm. It has been shown, however, by direct 
experiment that winter wheat may be changed to spring wheat 





1 



VARIETIES OF WHEAT 55 

and spring wheat to winter wheat. M. Mouries sowed winter 
wheat in the spring and out of one hundred plants four alone 
ripened seeds. These were sown and resown and in three 
years plants were reared which ripened all their seeds. Con- 
versely, nearly all the plants raised from spring wheat sown 
in the autumn perished from the cold, but a few were saved and 
produced seed. In three years this spring variety was converted 
into a winter variety. This is a striking example of the climatic 
adaptability of wheat. It shows that a variety which possesses 
valuable characteristics, although lacking hardiness, may be 
worth attempting to grow, provided intelligent selection is 
exercised until it becomes adapted to the climate. 

II. CLASSIFICATION OF VARIETIES. 

87. The Importance of Variety. — The variety has much to do 
with the successful culture of wheat *n each individual instance. 
Except in the possible extra outlay for seed, it costs no more to 
raise twenty bushels from a good variety than fifteen bushels 
from a poor variety. If, on the other hand, the yield is in- 
creased .by the use of fertilizers or by better preparation of the 
seed bed, the increase is made at some expense, more or less 
considerable. (29) 

88. The Best Variety. — There is no best variety for the 
whole countr}'. Not only do good varieties in one locality prove 
poor varieties in another, but sometimes a ^•ariety which one 
year gives the largest yield of fifty varieties, sown the next year 
in the same locality is one of the poorest yielders. Neverthe- 
less, careful and systematic tests covering a decade or more by 
several experiment stations show that certain varieties are on 
an average of years decidedly superior to other varieties in the 
given locality and for the particular soil and methods of culture. 
Hays estimates that the Minnesota Station has made possible 
the increase in the yield of wheat in Minnesota one to two 
bushels per acre, or five to ten per cent, through the introduc- 



56 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

tion of Minnesota No. 1 69. A list of some of tlie best varieties 
as shown by the results of station tests is given elsewhere. 
(96, 97, 98, 99) 

89. Variety Names. — One reason which makes the compara- 
tive merits of varieties so confusing is that many names are 
given to the same variety. It is not unusual for old and well- 
known varieties to be put on the market with high sounding 
names and extravagant praises. Probably the re-naming of 
old varieties is to some extent intentional deception, but doubt- 
less much of it is done through ignorance. A wheat raiser 
procures fresh seed from some source without knowing the name 
of it, and finds after growing it a year or two that it is better 
than that grown by his immediate neighbors. This leads to a 
local name, given either by the grower or the buyers. The better 
the variety and the more extensively it is grown, the larger the 
number of names it is likely to receive. Different varieties, also, 
although less frequently, sometimes have the same name. Often 
fancied or real improvement has taken place. It would often 
be difficult to decide when a strain has varied sufficiently to 
justify its having a new name. 

90. Pedigree Wheat. — To protect both the purchaser of 
seed wheat and the producer of superior varieties, it has been 
proposed to establish a register for recording varieties of wheat 
and other field crops. This record would be accompanied by a 
statistical pedigree of the variety and there would be just the 
same opportunity of judging the source and value of the variety 
as there now is for judging these qualities in registered breeds 
of live stock. By statistical pedigree is meant that the yield 
of the crop in each generation would be on record. If the yield 
of a lineal ancestor of a particular strain of a given variety were 
known for a number of generations, together with the name of 
the grower, the locality, character of soil, and method of culture 
of each generation, the purchaser would have an intelligent and 
consistent basis for judging its value. Whether this register 



VARIETIES OF WHEAT 57 

could best be conducted by breeders' associations, by the State 
or National agency is still an unsettled question. In the mean- 
time there is an opportunity for breeders to form associations 
and reap a benefit similar to that obtained by live stock 
breeders' associations. 

91. Number of Varieties. — In 1895 the United States De- 
partment of Agriculture collected about 1,000 rather distinct 
varieties of wheat, having obtained varieties from every wheat 
country of the world. After three years' trial less than 200 
varieties were selected as being worthy of continued trial. 
After five years' trial, it was determined that in all the species 
and subspecies of wheat there were 245 which may be regarded 
as leading varieties of the world, at least so far as they have 
any adaptability to American conditions. 

92. Variety Characteristics. — The following are some of the 
characteristics which may be taken to constitute variety differ- 
ences : color, shape and hardness of grain, color and smooth- 
ness of glumes, glumes bearded or beardless, time of ripening, 
length and other characters of straw. If grown under like 
conditions, probably the size of the grain, when the differences 
are marked, should be considered. With winter whea't the time 
of ripening is not a very important characteristic through much 
of the winter wheat area. The Ohio Station finds usually about 
twelve days as the extreme difference in sixty-five varieties 
tested, although a difference of sixteen days has been noted. 
This station is confirmed in the belief that seasons which 
produce early maturity give crops of better quality.^ Hays 
found among 400 plants of a single spring variety that the time of 
ripening varied from 97 to 127 days.^ In those States west of 
the Missouri River where hot dry winds frequently prevail during 
the ripening period, especially if delayed, earliness of maturity 

X Ohio Bui. 129, p. 18. 

S Mimu Bui. 62 (1S99) p. 424. 



58 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



is essential to successful wheat culture. A number of otherwise 
desirable varieties cannot be successfully grown on account of 
their lateness in maturing. 

93. Variety Groups. — The different varieties can be divided 
easily into eight groups in accordance with three external char- 
acters as follows : 



Wheat 



Bearded 



Beardless 



Glumes white 



Glumes bronze 



Glumes white 



Glumes bronze 



( Grain red — i 
( Grain white — 2 
C Grain red — 3 
( Grain white — 4 
( Grain red — 5 
( Grain white — 6 
( Grain red — 7 
( Grain white — 8 



In some varieties with bronze glumes the glumes are velvety 
instead of smooth, as is usually the case. The color of the 
grain varies from a light yellow, usually called white, to a deep 
red. In some cases the intermediate color is referred to as 
amber. In the markets wheat is referred to as either red 
or white. With the exceptions just noted, different varieties 
coming in any one of the eight groups will usually resemble 
each other closely and need to be subjected to a rigid test to 
determine their right to be called separate varieties. Beardless 
varieties with red berries are the most numerous and most 
generally cultivated. It has not been demonstrated that there 
is any difference in yield between red and white or bearded 
and beardless wheats. Two thousand years ago Columella 
recommended bearded wheats for low moist land and beard- 



VARIETIES OF WHEAT 



59 



less wheats for dry upland. The variety which the Ohio 
Station especially recommends for lowland is bearded, while 
the two highest yielding varieties upon upland soil in nine 
years' test are beardless. Some bearded varieties, however, 
have also yielded nearly as well upon upland soil. Red grains 
command the highest price because of their superior milling 
qualities. 

94. Desirable Qualities, — The three characteristics which de- 
termine the eight groups above are external and in themselves 
are not essential, although they may be 
correlated with essential qualities. Nils- 
son holds that the purely botanical char- 
acters have correlated with them such 
valuable economic ones that too much 
stress cannot be laid upon the value of 
a pure botanical variety.^ Some of the 
qualities which it is desirable to obtain 
in wheat are : 

(i) High yield. 

(2) Hardness and density of grain. 

(3) For some purposes and within 
certain limits high gluten content of 
superior quality. 

(4) Early maturity (at least for some 
sections.) 

(5) Resistance to drought. 

(6) Resistance to rusts. 

(7) Resistance to Hessian fly. 

(8) Stiffness of straw. 

Some of these qualities are interdependent, as for example 
high yield and resistance to drought, rusts or Hessian fly, and 
some are probably antagonistic, as high yield and high gluten 
content. 



1 


MionMotB 


h lU M 


" !'"'«' " 


Tm lU » 






Yieldt 
per 
Acre 
Average 
Trial. 
















/ 


















/ 














-- 


/ 




■■ 




^ 




- 
















































Grrue. 
Tn»J.- 




^ 




















s 






















, 


1 
















\ 


1 
















^ 


1 








_ 


_ 




— 


J 


- 


- 


- 




iTr.aV 


5 


i 


s 


i 


5 


1 


s 


i 






OuiJiiy 
^ Glulen 


= 


z 


5» 


^ 


^ 


= 


^ 


^ 


i tS 




jDryClul.n 






■^ 


V 





1 


_ 




— 


— 






-^ 


^i^ 


^ 




> Tr,al. 


-J 


























s 


^ 


















~ 


- 




t 


— 


Lb 


- 



Graphic score card comparing 
wheats. 



1 E. S. R- XIII (1902), p. 817. 



6o THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

95. Score Card. — Hays has proposed a score card for com- 
paring the performance of spring varieties of wheat, as follows : ' 
Percentage score card for comparing varieties of wheat : 



(i) Yield per acre .... 


45 


(2) Grade of grain (market estimation) . 


20 


(3) Rust resistance . » . . 


10 


(4) Quality of gluten . . . . 


10 


(5) Amount of gluten .... 


S 


(6) Coefficient of rise of gluten 


10 


graphic presentation of this score card is 


100 
proposed, as 



shown in paragraph 94. 

96. Market Classification. — The markets of the country 
recognize four types of wheat, which are grown in somewhat 
distinct areas of the country, although no sharp line can be 
drawn between these localities. They are as follows : 

1. Soft winter, in eastern United States; climate mild, even 
and moist; spike either bearded or beardless, but principally 
the latter ; color of grain varies from white to light red ; per cent 
of gluten medium. 

2. Hard winter, south of Minnesota and the Dakotas be- 
tween the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains ; extremes 
of temperature and moisture with dry, hot summers ; usually 
bearded; grain red, with per cent of' gluten high. 

3. Hard spring, in Minnesota, the Dakotas and northern 
Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska f climate too severe for winter 
varieties, otherwise like hard winter district ; bearded or beard- 
less ; color of grain red and usually lacking in plumpness ; per 
cent of gluten high. 

4. White, in Pacific Coast and Rocky Mountain States ; long 
season of growth ; bearded or beardless ; grain white, large and 
plump ; per cent of gluten low. 

1 Minn. Bui. 62 (1899), p. 432. 

3 Central and western Canada also furnishes a large quantity of this type. 



VARIETIES OF WHEAT 6 1 

To what extent the varieties of these regions were made so 
directly by the environment under which they have been 
grown, and to what extent they are simply the survival of the 
fittest is still open to further investigation. To put it in other 
words, the characters may have been acquired through their 
present environment, or the present varieties may have been 
selected as the best of a large number of varieties tested in each 
region. 

97. Soft Winter Varieties.— Seven stations, including Guelph, 
Canada, located east of the Mississippi River, have reported 
tests of varieties of wheat within the past decade. The follow- 
ing varieties have been reported as having given superior yields 
at two or more stations : 

Bearded, red or amber grain : Valley, Nigger, Mediterranean, 
Rudy, Fulcaster, Kansas Mortgage Lifter. 

Bearded, white grain : Early Genesee Giant. 

Beardless, red or amber grain : Mealy, Early Ripe, Poole, 
Currell's Prolific, New Monarch, Improved Poole, Fultz, Har- 
vest King, Early Red Clawson. 

Beardless, white grain : Dawson's Golden Chaff. 

Fultz is probably the most widely and universally grown 
variety of wheat in the United States. (103) It is what may 
be called a semihard, red-grained beardless variety with white 
smooth glumes. Red Fultz (synonyms, Poole and German 
Emperor) is also largely grown, but differs from Fultz in having 
bronze smooth glumes. 

98. Hard Winter Varieties.— The favorite variety of the 
hard winter wheat is the Turkey (sometimes called Crimean), a 
bearded, hard red wheat, coming originally from Crimea and 
other portions of Laurida in southern Russia. 

After testing the comparative hardiness and yield of 275 
varieties of wheat, covering a series of years, the Kansas Station 
recommends three bearded varieties, Andrews No. 4, Turkey 
and Valley, and three beardless varieties, Tasmanian Red, 



62 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

Ramsey and Currell.^ Sibley's New Golden (bearded) gave the 
largest average yield during six years at the Oklahoma Station.^ 

99. Hard Spring Varieties. — The two types of hard spring 
wheat of which there are many varieties are the Fife and the Blue 
Stem. Both are beardless with white glumes, which in the Blue 
Stem are covered with fine velvety hairs but in the Fife are 
smooth. The Minnesota Station after years of testing 200 
varieties of wheat has selected two of the Fife type (Power's 
Fife and Glyndon) and two of the Blue Stem type (Bolton's 
Blue Stem and Haynes' Blue Stem) as the best four varieties for 
combined yield and quality.^ This station has also originated 
an improved strain of Glyndon under the name of Minnesota 
No. 163. Preston, a bearded variety, originated by Dr. William 
Saunders, Director of the Dominion Experiment Farms, Ottawa, 
Canada, has given good results at several stations. 

Spring varieties of durum and macaroni wheats are now 
being recommended in the semiarid portion of the spring wheat 
district. South Dakota reports that macaroni wheat will yield 
from twenty- five to 100 per cent more than the best Blue Stem 
and Fife wheats, the difference in favor of the macaroni wheats 
increasing as the conditions for raising bread (common) wheat 
become less favorable.* At the North Dakota Station the 
average yield of a number of durum (Russian) varieties during 
four years (i 899-1 902) was 30.3, while for the Blue Stem and 
Fife varieties combined it was 25.9 bushels.^ 

The reports from the Nebraska Station ® and from the Colo- 
rado Station'' are less favorable, while the Minnesota Station 

1 Rpt. Kans. St. Bd. Agr. Quar. ending March, 1902, p. 76. 

2 Okla. Bui. 4;, p. 44. 

3 Minn. Bui. 62 (1S99), p. 354. 

4 S. Dak. Bui. 77, p. 7. 

B 13th Rpt. N. Dak. Sta. (1903), p. 77. 

6 Neb. Bui. 78. 

7 Col. Press Bui. 17. 



VARIETIES OF WHEAT 63 

states that their experiments have demonstrated the superiority 
for their conditions of the Bkie Stem and Fife varieties of com- 
mon wheat.^ As the result of five years' tests, the Montana 
Station recommends three Fife varieties (Red, Wellman's and 
McKissock's) and three durum varieties (Kubanka, Russian 
2955 and Wikl Goose) .- 

100. White Varieties. — These varieties are to be found grow- 
ing in the Pacific Coast States and are largely of the club or 
square head type. Carleton gives the principal varieties as 
follows : Australian, California Club, Sonora, Oregon Red Chaff, 
Foise, Palouse Blue Stem, Palouse Red Chaff, White Winter and 
Little Club. 

III. IMPROVEMENT OF VARIETIES. 

loi. New Varieties. — The new varieties of wheat in this 
country have come from three sources: (i) The introduction 
of foreign varieties ; (2) the selection of variations in existing 
varieties; (3) the crossing of two or more varieties and sub- 
sequent selection. 

102. The Introduction of Foreign Varieties. — Examples of the 
introduction of valuable varieties from foreign countries are to 
be found in Mediterranean, a bearded red winter wheat intro- 
duced first in 18 1 9 from the islands of the Mediterranean Sea; 
Fife, a beardless red spring variety, supposed to have been 
obtained by selection from a winter variety introduced from 
Russia ; Turkey, a bearded red winter variety from southern 
Russia ; and the club varieties of the Pacific Coast, soft bearded 
varieties both spring and winter, some of them at least coming 
from Chile. 

103. Improvement by Selection. — Illustrations of improve- 
ment by selection are to be found in Fultz, a red-grained beard- 
less variety, selected from Lancaster, a red bearded variety, 

1 Minn. Bui. 62 (1899), p. 393. 

2 Eighth An. Rpt. Mont. Sta. (igoi), p. 16. 



64 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

in 1862 by Abraham Fultz, Mifflin county, Penn. ; Clawson, a 
white-grained beardless variety, selected from Fultz in 1865 by 
Garret Clawson ; Gold Coin, a white-grained beardless variety, 
selected from Diehl Mediterranean, a hybrid with beards and red 
grains, by Ira W. Green, Avon, N. Y. Probably most of the 
varieties grown at the present time are the result of simple 
selection more or less systematic. 

104. Varieties Through Crossing. — Probably the best known 
variety in this country produced by simple crossing is Fulcaster, 
a red-grained, semihard, bearded variety produced in 1886 by 

S. M. Schindel, Hagerstown, Md., by 
crossing Fultz and Lancaster. (103) 
An example of continued crossing with 
different varieties for several generations 
is to be found in Early Genesee Giant, 
a bearded, red-grained variety produced 
by A. N. Jones, Newark, N. Y. Jones' 
Winter Fife, Early Red Clawson and 
many others have been produced in this 
way. 

In the varieties just mentioned only 
varieties of the same subspecies have 
been used in crossing. John Garton of England, William Far- 
rar of New South Wales and W. Rimpau of Germany have 
produced wheat hybrids by crossing two or more subspecies, as 
common wheat, durum wheat and spelt. Where crosses cannot 
be made directly between two subspecies, it may be accom- 
plished indirectly by first producing a hybrid between one type 
and an intermediate type. Speaking of plants in general, John 
Garton says that every two species of plants have a go- 
between, and given a thousand years he could cross any two 
plants in the world. 

105. The Possibility of Cross-Fertilization. — Hackel states 
that only about one-third the pollen of an anther is deposited on 





Sledttt rrane an 


Ruag 


'-'<^'-\iks7. 


LancoBtcT "N. / 


Earlri White 
Liader C 


» JpBybrid. 


■^ Iiji,nic(^ iv,«g«/,. 


CoUtnCro, 


■'' ynyhrid 


V^ '>^'"" 




'^urlif Genesee Ciant 


Diagram 


showing pedigree 


of Ear 


ly Genesee Giant. 


(After 


Carleton.) 



VARIETIES OF WHEAT 65 

its own flower, while the rest is deposited into the open air. 
As the glumes are open upward there would seem to be nothing 
to prevent the flower below on the same spike from receiving 
this pollen. Cross-fertilization between flowers of the same 
spike would seem probable, while cross-fertilization between 
flowers of different spikes in close proximity would seem possi- 
ble. In practice, however, it is found that different varieties of 
wheat grown side by side rarely cross, although it has been 
pretty definitely proved that they sometimes do so. It has not 
been satisfactorily explained why varieties do not cross under 
these conditions. Cross-fertilization can readily be accomplished 
artificially. It has been suggested that it may be due to the 
stigma being more recepti\'e to the pollen of its own flower than 
that of other flowers. Rye, a closely allied species to wheat, 
seems to cross readily. The pollen is often seen floating over 
a field of r}e at the proper season of the year. The anthers 
are much larger in ry^e than in wheat, and therefore the pollen 
more abundant. The abundance of pollen, the ease with which 
it floats in the air and the time of day at which the flowers open 
may be factors in this problem. (49) 

106. The Law of Cross-Fertilization. — It is a generally recog- 
nized law that cross-fertilization adds vigor to the offspring, and 
the many devices by which this is accomplished in plants forms 
a very interesting study. Hays has suggested that Darwin's 
dictum that nature causes benefits to arise from crossing and 
abhors self-fertilization may not apply to all plants. He 
would state the law thus : " Nature abhors a radical change 
which would require species to cross in much closer or in much 
more radical relationship than is their long-established habit." 

107. Importance of Crossing as a Method of Improvement. — 
Mendel found that hybrid peas selected to one type were soon 
stable. Mendel's Law worked out formally gives the following 
results as applied to one characteristic of the artificial hybrids 
allowed to self-pollinate during a series of years. 



66 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



A Study of Artificial Hybrids. 



Per 


cent of purity 


1895 


1896 


1897 


1898 


1899 


Pure 

Mi.Ked .... 
Pure . . . , . 


25.00 
50.00 
25.00 


37-5 
25.00 

37-5 


43-75 
12.50 

43-75 


46.875 

6.25 

46.875 


48.4375—96.9 

3-125 
4S.4375— 96.9 




Graphic expression of the results of an experiment in 
developing from a single hybrid plant No. 1814 (pro- 
duced by crossing a plant of Fife with one of Blue 
Stem), two varieties, one having smooth and the other 
hairy chaff. (After Hays.) 



Since wheat hybrids naturally self-pollinate, it would be ex- 
pected that they would follow the same law, and Spillman found 

this to be the case. 
Hays reduced some 
hybrids to uniform 
type in four genera- 
tions. His hybrid 
varieties based on 
single mother plants 
of the fourth genera- 
tion breed true to 
the botanical types 
of the mother plant. 
Whether the corre- 
lated characteristics combined in making up the unit of higher 
value per acre will continue their united excellence has been 
questioned. Hays' experience indicates that at least a part of 
the hybrids which show most vigor in value per acre during the 
first several years after the hybrids are formed will continue to 
yield well of good grain. Mendel's results add assurance to the 
hope that at least part of the complex compound of characters 
formed in producing a lot of wheat hybrids will remain stable. 
Hybrids made by Saunders, Hays and others and widely dis- 
tributed retain their characteristics apparently unchanged. 

108. Method of Finding and Testing New Strains or Varieties. 

■ — The methods of improving wheat by experiment and seed sta- 
tions now recognize the individual wheat plant as the unit from 
which selections are made. From whatever source the seed is 



3 



VARIETIES OF WHEAT 



67 









,-jfe: 



obtained, whether from crossing, by selection from a field or 
simply from the bin, seeds are planted individually in rows any 
suitable distance apart, — usually four by four inches for spring 
wheat and five by five for winter wheat. The larger the number 
of indi\idual plants the better. 
If any plants are found among 
those thus grown that possess 
characteristics desirable to per- 
petuate, one hundred seeds, more 
or less, are planted as above 
indicated in order to determine 
the ability of the selected plant 
to transmit its characteristics or 
in the case of cross-bred varie- 
ties by continued selection to fix 
the type. This group of plants 
from a single parent has been 
given the name of centgener.^ 

Centgeners of a single strain are raised for three or more years, 
when, if found promising, all the seed, or as much as may be 
necessary, of the produce of the centgener, except the best one 
or more plants, is sown in small plats to test its adaptability 
under field conditions. If found satisfactory, the seed is rapidly 
multiplied and distributed among farmers and commercial seed 
growers. The plants reserved become mothers of centgeners 
with the hope of obtaining still further improvement. 

1 Plant Breeding. By Willet M. Hays. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. of Veg. Phys. 
and Path. Bui. 29 (1901), p. 46. 



Method of planting wheat in field nur- 
sery of Nebraska Experiment Station. 
(From photograph by Lyon.) 



V. 

WHEAT. 

I. CLIMATE. 

109. Conditions of Successful Wheat Culture. — The yield and 
quality of wheat, and hence its successful growth, agriculturally 
considered, depend mainly upon these six conditions : (i) 
climate, (2) soil (including fertilizers), (3) variety, (4) methods 
of cultivation, (5) liability to disease, and (6) attack of insect 
enemies. 

lie. Effect of Climate Upon Geographical Distribution. — 
According to the tenth census seventy per cent of the wheat of 
the United States was grown where the average January tem- 
perature was below freezing; eighty-five per cent was grown 
where the average July temperature was between seventy and 
eighty degrees, and sixty-five per cent where the mean annual 
temperature was between forty-five and fifty-five degrees. Too 
much weight must not be attached to this, as the soil, partic- 
ularly in respect to its ease of cultivation, has greatly affected 
the distribution of wheat. Most of the wheat of the world, 
however, grows in regions of cold winters, although there are 
some noted exceptions, as California, Egypt and India. Taking 
the world at large, and including both spring and winter 
varieties, wheat has a very wide climatic range. Its range of 
successful culture, also, seems to be constantly extending north- 
ward, wh-ether through climatic adaptation or from other causes 
seems less clear. 

III. Effect of Climate Upon Quality. — Localities having 
widely different climate and soil have their peculiar varieties, 
which differ somewhat in composition but much more in physi- 



i 



CULTURE OF WHEAT 69 

cal characters, such as size, plumpness, hardness and color of 
grain, length and shape of spike and in length of straw. It 
seems to be quite conclusively demonstrated that these changes 
are more closely related to climate than to any other factor. (74) 
Some varieties of wheat, however, such as Fultz, have a very 
wide distribution. 

Those localities which have extremes of temperature and 
rainfall, especially during the ripening period, generally have 
the hardest and reddest grains and the highest per cent of 
nitrogen, but are generally less plump and are smaller in size. 
Wheat of hot, sunny climates, with moderately dry weather 
during the latter part of growth, is brighter and makes better 
quality of flour the world over. The United States is particu- 
lary favored in this respect. 

112. Effect of Climate Upon Growth. — Seelhorst found that 
a high moisture content in the soil during early growth caused 
a larger number of spikelets per head, and that a high water 
content at time of heading increased the number of developed 
blossoms per spikelet.^ 

A cool, prolonged, but not too wet spring, followed by moder- 
ately dry sunny weatner during ripening, is most favorable to the 
largest yield of best quality. The influence of the length of the 
growing period on the accumulation of plant food and conse- 
quently upon yield may be illustrated by assuming that a maxi- 
mum crop requires twenty-four pounds of nitrates besides those 
already formed in the soil, and by assuming that throughout the 
growing season four pounds of nitrates per month are produced 
by the nitrifying agents in the soil. Six months of growth would 
be necessary to produce a maximum crop. If climatic condi- 
tions should force the crop to maturity in five months, there would 
not be enough nitrates to produce a full crop, unless the same 
climatic conditions influenced the production of nitrates in 
the soil. The loss of nitrates during wet seasons has been 

1 Jour. landw. 48 (1900), No. 2, pp. 165-177, pis, 2. (E. S. R. XIII (1902), 125.) 



70 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

found to be greater and the amount taken up by the wheat 
smaller. 

113. Accumulation of Soil Constituents at Different Stages 
of Growth. — The wheat plant for its best development needs to 
have its early growth in the cool part of the year. A long 
period of growth consequent upon cool weather encourages til- 
lering and gives better opportunity to get sufficient plant growth. 
Adorjan has shown that wheat takes up the greater portion of 
its food in the early stages of growth, stores it up, and draws 
upon it later for the development of the grain. ^ (123) 

At the Minnesota Station during two years the weight and 
composition of spring wheat was determined (i) at fifty days 
when it was eighteen inches high, (2) at sixty-five days when it 
was fully headed, (3) at eighty-one days when grain was in the 
milk, (4) at 105 days when wheat was ripe. 

At the end of fifty days the plant had produced nearly one- 
half its dry matter and nearly three-fourths its total mineral 
matter ; when fully headed, sixty-five per cent of its dry matter 
and eighty-five per cent of its mineral matter. When the grain 
was in the milk the plant had produced ninety per cent of its 
dry matter and -practically all its mineral matter. Nearly 
seventy-five per cent of the potash, eighty per cent of the phos- 
phoric acid, and eighty-six per cent of the nitrogen was taken up 
in the first fifty days. The fiber was formed largely before 
the plant was fully headed ; after the grain was in the milk a 
slight loss of fiber occurred in the plant. The starch stored up 
in the seeds was formed mainly during the last half of the 
period of growth.^ 

114. Winter Killing. — In a country of cold winters it is better 
to have the ground covered continually with snow. Alternate 
freezing and thawing with the plant exposed to the wind is very 
destructive to wheat. Winter wheat kills in two ways, by freez- 

1 Jour. Landw. 50 (1902), No. 3, pp. 193-230. (E. S. R. XIV, 436.) 

2 Minn. Bui. 29, pp. 152-160. 



CULTURE OF WHEAT 7 1 

ing to death and by being heaved out by alternate freezing and 
thawing. When the soil is bare, the soil temperature about the 
roots of the young plant will reach nearly that of the overlying 
air, but if the soil is covered with two inches of snow, its tem- 
perature will be little if any below the freezing point. 

II. THE SOIL AND ITS AMENDMENTS, 

115. The Choice of Soil. — The character of the soil affects 
the yield much more than the quality of the wheat. (74, iii) 
A large proportion of the wheat is grown in this country upon 
glaciated drift soil, the controlling reason being the ease of 
cultivation and adaptation to the use of light machinery. 

Throughout the winter wheat region between parallels 38° 
and 42° N. latitude, within which lies what is known as the 
"Corn-belt," two general types of drift soil are recognized: (i) 
clay soils, usually upland, light in color, tenacious in texture, 
requiring careful tillage, which is generally adapted to wheat 
and grass crops, and (2) loamy soils, usually lowlands or prai- 
ries, dark in color, full of organic matter and friable in texture, 
generally known as maize land, to which it is especially adapted. 
This latter is not so well adapted to wheat, because in unfavor- 
able seasons the wheat is apt to winter kill. Where the first 
type of soil is predominant, wheat, meadows and pastures 
largely prevail, while where the second type is predominant, 
maize and oats are the prevailing crops. It is not so much that 
fair crops of wheat may not be obtained as it is that maize pays 
better that has brought about this result; although on this soil 
wheat, as just stated, is very liable to winter kill. On the other 
hand, on the clay soils maize not only does not do so well, 
but the grass crop reduces the labor of tillage and helps to 
maintain the fertility of the soil. There is still a third type of 
soil to be found in less quantity in river valleys, chocolate in 
color, less tenacious in texture than the upland clays, being 
composed of a larger proportion of silt than the clay and less 



72 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

organic matter than the black soils, but very fertile and equally 
adapted to either maize or wheat. It is on the first of these 
three types of soil that fertilizers have been found to be most 
advantageous. Generally speaking, the increase in yield of 
wheat on the second and third types of soil has not been suffi- 
cient to pay for the cost of the fertilizers. 

ii6. Effect of Change of Soil on Yield. — The Indiana Station 
sent seed of Velvet Chaff grown seven consecutive years to 
four different counties in the State, and the seed received from 
the crop was sown the next year at the station alongside the 
seed retained at the station. There were only slight variations 
in the yield of wheat from the different localities.^ The Mary- 
land Station found no material difference between Maryland 
and Kansas seed with six varieties.^ BoUey concludes after 
testing wheat from different parts of North Dakota, repre- 
senting all kinds of soil, that true varieties under like soil and 
climatic conditions will approximate a like product without 
reference to the parent soil.^ The Nebraska Station found 
that wheat of the same variety from different sections of the 
country showed considerable variation in the habit of growth, 
much to the disadvantage of seed grown east of the Missouri 
River.* At the North Dakota Station the average result of 
twenty-three tests with home grown seed and with wheat origin- 
ally from this station but grown at the Minnesota Station from 
one to nine years, showed a gain of about 2.5 bushels in favor 
of the home grown seed. ^ 

117. The Use of Fertilizers. — Nothing has been more clearly 
demonstrated than the fact that with an increased amount of 
fertilizers, the yield does not increase proportionately to the quan- 

1 Ind. Bui. 41. 

2 Md. Bui. 14. 

3 E. S. R. VI (1896), 268. 

4 Neb. Bui. 72. 

6 N. Dak. Rpt. 1900, pp. 59-97. 



CULTURE OF WHEAT 73 

tity of fertilizer used. It is perfectly obvious that the amount 
of fertilizer to be applied, whether zero pounds, one hundred 
pounds, or a thousand pounds, is an economic and therefore a 
local question. Experiments have shown clearly that some in- 
crease in yield will result when fertilizers are applied in proper 
ways, at proper times, in proper proportions, and in proper con- 
dition, to clay soils such as produce much of the winter wheat 
east of the Mississippi River. Whether the application of a 
certain quantity of fertilizer will increase the yield sufficient to 
pay for the cost of application depends upon many factors, some 
of which are purely local and some can only be determined 
by trial. 

A great many careful trials have been made by experiment 
stations on their own ground and upon the farms of the citizens 
of their own respective States. In some cases, the yields have 
paid good returns for money invested ; perhaps in more cases, 
the value of the increased yield of wheat has not been equal to 
the cost of the fertilizers used. The longer the land has been 
under cultivation the more general has the application of fertili- 
zers to wheat become, so that in all of the States east of Illinois 
large quantities are annually applied for this crop. 

ii8. Indirect Fertilization. — Two methods of adding plant 
food to the soil for wheat are practiced, viz., (i) the direct 
method and (2) the indirect method. 

In the indirect method the plant food may be increased in 
two ways : (i) by growmg wheat in a rotation w ith other crops 
which will, by the vegetation which they leave in the soil, or by 
the culture which the soil receives in growing the crop, increase 
the available plant food, or in other ways physical and biological, 
increase the wheat producing capacity of the soil; or (2) by 
adding fertilizers in the production of other crops in the rota- 
tion, the residual effect of which is beneficial to the wheat crop. 
The best results are obtained in the indirect method when both 
features are combined in the system of rotation. 



74 ' THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

119. Rotations. — The rotation of crops has been shown to 
be absolutely essential to the profitable use of commercial 
fertilizers.^ Rotations are greatly modified in different localities 
both by the crop producing capacity of the soil and by economic 
causes. Wheat is frequently grown because it cannot well be 
omitted from certain otherwise successful rotations. In many 
sections for seeding land to timothy and clover, no other crop 
combines so many advantages. 

The five course rotation of maize, oats and wheat, each one 
year, and timothy and clover two years, is considered standard in 
many sections. In this rotation stable or farm yard manure is 
applied to the land before plowing for maize at the rate of about 
twenty loads per acre. On what is known as maize land, the 
residual effect of this manuring is usually sufficient to grow a 
good crop of wheat, provided other conditions, such as climate, 
rainfall and insect enemies, are not unfavorable. On the more 
tenacious light colored clay soils, a light application (say twenty- 
five pounds) of phosphoric acid (PoOj) is applied at the time of 
seeding the wheat. A slight modification of the above is the 
four course rotation of maize, oats, wheat and clover, each one 
year. A still further modification is the three course rotation of 
maize, wheat and clover, each one year. This is in regions not 
well adapted to oats on account of climatic conditions and on 
soil in which wheat can be successfully raised after maize without 
plowing. (128) Sometimes mammoth clover is used and treated 
as a seed crop. One of the most satisfactory rotations in its 
effect upon the yield of wheat is the three course rotation of 
potatoes, wheat and clover, each one year. Where stable or 
farm yard manure is available it is applied to the clover immedi- 
ately after cutting the second crop in order to stimulate the 
growth of clover to be plowed under either in the late fall or 
early spring. In many cases the land is quite heavily fertilized 
with commercial fertilizers at the time the potatoes are planted. 

I Ohio Bui. 110 (1899), p. 68. 



i 



CULTURE OF WHEAT 75 

The wheat is sown after the removal of the potatoes without 
plowing. The residual effect of the fertilizers combined with 
the influence of the tillage given the potatoes usually results in 
increased wheat production, 

120. Carriers of Fertilizing Constituents. — The results of 
many experiments with various forms of phosphatic fertilizers 
seem to indicate clearly that when these are applied to wheat, 
the carrier or source of the phosphoric acid, whether raw bone 
meal, undissolved rock phosphate, basic slag, acid phosphate, 
or tankage, does not materially affect the yield provided the 
material is finely ground. Nitrate of soda has been found to be 
the most effective carrier of nitrogen, although the difference in 
the effectiveness of different carriers of nitrogen is not great 
when applied to wheat. 

121. Relative Importance of Fertilizing Constituents. — While 
field experiments indicate that the relative importance of 
fertilizing constituents depends upon the soil, throughout the 
drift area of the United States, phosphoric acid is the only ferti- 
lizing ingredient which, when applied singly, has been found 
generally to increase the yield of wheat. The increase in the 
yield of straw has usually been greater than the increase 
in grain. (53) For this reason, the increased appearance of 
the crop is generally greater than the increased yield of grain. 
The influence of fertilizers upon the seeding of timothy and 
clover when it accompanies the seeding of the wheat is often de- 
cidedly favorable. Neither nitrogen nor potash when used alone 
produces generally any marked infliuence on the yield, but both, 
and nitrogen especially when applied with phosphoric acid in 
proper proportions, appear to exert a favorable influence. The 
Ohio Station has found that a complete fertilizer, containing all 
three constituents, has produced a much larger total increase 
than the sum of the increase produced by the constituents used 
separately.^ The same idea is expressed in the results obtained 

1 Ohio Bui. no (1899), p. 68. 



76 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

in a five year rotation of maize, oats, wheat, each one year, and 
clover and timothy two years, fertilizer being applied to each 
of the grain crops : 

" When phosphoric acid has been applied alone in superphosphate, 20 per 
cent of the quantity applied in the fertilizer has been recovered in the crop. When 
phosphoric acid has been reinforced with potash, there has been a recovery of 27 
per cent of the former. When phosphoric acid has been reinforced with nitrogen 
instead of potash the recovery has reached 38 per cent of the phosphoric acid 
applied, and when both potash and nitrogen have been added, the recovery of the 
phosphoric acid has amounted to 46 to 50 per cent." 1 

Wheat does not appear to be benefited directly by the appli- 
cation of lime. If the soil needs liming, it is best applied to 
the land prior to planti-ng it to maize. 

122. Amount of Fertilizers. — A standard application of fer- 
tilizer may be said to be one that furnishes from ten to twenty 
pounds each of ammonia and potash and from thirty to sixty 
pounds of phosphoric acid. This can be obtained by apply- 
ing from 250 to 500 pounds of a commercial fertilizer con- 
taining four per cent of ammonia, twelve per cent of available 
phosphoric acid, and four per cent of potash. This is often 
referred to as a 4-12-4 fertilizer and is a grade that usually 
can be found on the market. 

The ratio of phosphoric acid to nitrogen and potash should 
be varied somewhat with state of fertility. With soil quite ex- 
hausted through continuous culture the proportion of nitrogen 
and potash to phosphoric acid should be increased, while with 
land of higher fertility and with favorable rotation, nitrogen and 
potash may be reduced. The above figures are at best only 
general averages. 

When it is necessary to apply lime to wheat land, an amount 
equal to 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of quick or freshly burned lime 
(CaO) may be applied. When it is water-slaked it will have in- 
creased in weight thirty-two per cent (CaO : Ca(H0)2: : 100 : 132). 

1 Ohio Bui. no (1899), p. 57. 



CULTURE OF WHEAT 77 

123. Time and Manner of Applying Commercial Fertilizers. — 
Commercial fertilizers are applied to wheat lands by sowing 
broadcast just in front of the wheat drill or by applying at the 
same time the wheat is drilled by a fertilizer attachment. 
The latter method is much to be preferred. In some cases 
an additional application of nitrogen is made to winter wheat 
by sowing nitrate of soda broadcast in the spring. At the 
experiment stations it has been customary to apply one- 
fourth of the nitrogen in the fall, often in the form of dried 
blood, and the rest of the nitrogen in the spring in the form of 
nitrate of soda, on the theory that if all the nitrogen is applied 
in the fall in a soluble form, much of it would be lost through 
drainage during the winter. Where nitrogen is applied in the 
spring, care should be taken to apply it before the wheat plant 
has made much growth. (113) 

In case lime is used, it should be spread upon the plowed 
land three or four days before seeding, immediately harrowed in 
and allowed to remain until all lumps which may be present have 
slaked, when the ground should be stirred again, preferably with 
a spring tooth harrow. 

124. Farm Manure. — Farm manure is usually applied to 
some other crop in the rotation, as maize, rather than directly 
to the wheat. If applied directly to wheat land, better results 
will be obtained by applying 200 tons to twenty acres of 
wheat than by applying the same amount to ten acres. If the 
preceding crop has been oats, the manure should be spread 
as soon as possible after the oats are cut and the land plowed. 
It is desirable that the manure should be well rotted, where 
rainfall is liable to be deficient. Beginning with a virgin soil, 
the Central Experiment Farm has found, however, after sixteen 
years that fresh and well-rotted manure applied in equal 
weights gave equal yields of grain and straw, while- barnyard 
manure gave considerably higher yields than any form of 
commercial fertilizers, and about twice the yield of plots not 



78 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

fertilized.^ Farm manure may be applied to the land after the 
wheat is sown, if well rotted, preferably with a manure spreader, 
if the condition of the land is such as not to be cut up too much 
with the spreader. Experiments have shown that a ton of stall 
manure will produce a larger return of wheat than a ton of 
yard manure.^ 

Farm manure does not produce as large returns for the fer- 
tilizing constituents contained as commercial fertilizers when 
applied to wheat; nevertheless its lower cost often makes its 
use profitable. Where there is a limited quantity of farm 
manure or where both farm manure and commercial fertilizers 
are used, the best practice usually is to apply the farm manure 
to land for maize and apply the commercial fertilizers, if deemed 
desirable, to the land for wheat. 

125. Mulching. — Mulching wheat with straw or other mate- 
rial for the purpose of winter protection has not been generally 
practiced. The Ohio Station^ has tested the value of mulching 
for a series of years, and has found no practical benefit from 
the use of a mulch. In severe seasons the benefit has been 
very slight, while in mild seasons the mulch has usually been 
harmful. A heavy mulch was more harmful than a light one. 
The Tennessee Station* obtained about five per cent less 
yield from a lightly mulched plat than from one which was not 
mulched. 

In exposed situations and localities where there is little snow 
upon the ground, a light mulch may be beneficial to the wheat. 
But where there is considerable snow and the temperature more 
uniform the mulch is pretty certain to do more injury than good. 
Mulching, however, must not be confused with a top dressing 
of stable manure for the purpose of adding fertility to the soil. 

1 Can. Expt. Farms Rpt. 1903, p. 24. 

2 Ohio Bui. no (1899), P- 52- 

3 Ohio Bui. 82. 

4 Tenn. Vol. Ill, Bui. 2. 



CULTURE OF WHEAT 79 

The value of the latter will depend largely upon the needs of the 
soil and the character of the manure used. 

III. CULTURAL METHODS. 

126. Time of Plowing. — It is generally conceded to be good 
practice to plow for winter wheat as early as practicable after 
the previous crop has been removed. This allows the soil to 
become compact before the seed is sown, prevents weeds from 
going to seed, and conserves the soil moisture by preventing the 
growth of vegetation, by the pulverization of the surface soil and 
by enabling more of the rainfall to be absorbed. In this con- 
nection the pulverization of the surface after each heavy rainfall, 
preferably with a spring tooth harrow, is extremely desirable 
in order to prevent surface evaporation. 

The experiment made by the Oklahoma Station^ is a fair 
illustration of what may be expected in the drier climates 
or the drier seasons of the more humid sections. Plats were 
plowed on July 19th, August 15th and September nth. The 
early plowed plat turned up moist and mellow ; the medium 
plowed somewhat dry and lumpy, while the late plowed plat was 
weedy, turned up lumpy and was dry to the full depth of plowing. 
Disking, harrowing and rolling was necessary to the extent that 
it was estimated that about eight times as much labor was put 
on it as would have been necessary had the ground been plowed 
when moist. All sections were seeded September 15th. In the 
early plowed plat germination was prompt and growth good. 
On the late plowed portion many plants suffered from lack 
of moisture ; the following summer the crop matured later, was 
more seriously affected by blight, and the grain was more 
shrivelled. The following yields were obtained : 

Date of plowing Yield per acre, bu. 

July 19 3^-5 

August 15 23.5 

September 11 . . . . . . 15.3 

1 Okla. Bui. 47 (1900), pp. 26-48. 



8o 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



The results of Utah, North Dakota and Minnesota in plowing 
in fall and spring for spring wheat are only slightly in favor 
of the fall plowing so far as yield is concerned, but early fall 
plowing is generally advocated by these stations in the interest 
of weed and insect destruction and more economical farm man- 
agement. In Manitoba, spring plowing has given better results 
than fall plowing, while summer fallowing has given better results 
than either.^ 

127. Depth of Plowing. — Generally speaking, plowing less 
than four inches or more than eight inches deep has not been 
found desirable. Within and even beyond these extremes the 
depth of plowing should vary with the character of the soil and 
the subsoil, but no specific rules can be laid down. In all cases 
the variation in yield due to depth of plowing has been slight. 
Subsoiling has not been found economical by any experiment 
station reporting results, and in some cases the yield has been 
reduced. 

128. Preparing Seed Bed Without Plowing. — It is a common 
practice on the friable loam soils of the Mississippi Valley to 

drill winter wheat without plowing 
on land which has just produced 
a crop of maize. In many in- 
stances the wheat is drilled in the 
standing maize without any pre- 
vious preparation, by drawing a 
five-hoe drill between the rows. 
Where the land is weedy the drill 
is sometimes preceded by a harrow 
drawn by one horse. In this case 
the soil has the proper surface pul- 
verization from the cultivation of the maize and is compact 
below. Afterward, at the proper time, the maize is husked. In 
the winter or spring, when the ground and stalks are frozen, the 

I Can. Expt. Farms Rpt. 1S99. 




Five-hoe grain drill. Hoes may be 
adjusted to different widths. 



CULTURE OF WHEAT 8 1 

stalks are broken off by drawing a heavy drag over the surface — • 
an old railroad rail being frequently used for this purpose. In 
many cases — and this practice is growing — the maize is cut and 
shocked before the proper time to sow the wheat. Then the 
wheat is sown as in the standing maize, or the more common 
practice on the heavier soils is to cut out the maize stubs with 
a disk harrow and harrow down with some suitable levelling 
instrument, preferably a spring tooth harrow. These methods 
make it possible to follow maize with winter wheat and the 
expense of putting in the wheat is small. It is thought also 
that the stalks are some protection to the wheat at times in 
preventing the snow from drifting off the wheat. The effect of 
this practice upon yield is hardly subject to determination 
experimentally except where the maize is cut before seeding. 
The experiments which have been made under the latter con- 
ditions indicate that the relative yield will depend upon the 
character of the soil. Where the soil is mellow and light, it 
should not be plowed ; where it is heavy clay, plowing will be 
found desirable. In the latter case rotation is generally such 
that wheat does not follow maize. 

In the spring wheat region, land that has previously been in 
oats or wheat is sometimes prepared without plowing, by using 
a disk harrow or similar instrument. Minnesota^ found disking 
as good as plowing on burned stubble field ; while North 
Dakota found that plowing gave the best results.^ Among the 
objects to be attained in preparing the seed bed are the preven- 
tion of the growth of weeds and the conservation of the soil 
moisture, and whichever method most nearly accomplishes these 
results will probably be best. Plowing is not necessary for root 
penetration in the friable soils of the spring wheat region. 

129. Time of Sowing. — The proper time to sow wheat 
depends upon climatic conditions, the fertility of the soil, the 

1 Minn. Bui. 46. 
« N. Dak. Bui. 10. 



82 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

preparation of the seed bed, the liability to injury from the 
Hessian fly, and perhaps slightly upon variety. 

It is possible to sow later as we go south, and necessary to 
sow earlier as we go north. When sown too late, the wheat 
has not sufficient vitality to stand the cold weather. When 
sown too early, its growth is so rank and succulent as to be 
injured by freezing. Experiments indicate the best average 
time of seeding in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois on the fortieth 
parallel to be about two weeks earlier than in Tennessee upon 
the thirty-sixth parallel ; while the results at Columbus, Ohio, on 
the fortieth parallel and Wooster on the forty-first parallel 
indicate a difference of about one week. Doubtless differences 
in the fertility of the soil as well as temperature and rainfall 
have affected the results. 

In some localities, early sown wheat is subject to attack from 
the Hessian fly. When such attacks are imminent, they may 
be avoided, by concerted action among the farmers of a 
neighborhood, by later sowing, especially if delayed until 
there is a killing frost, and also by sowing early some strips of 
wheat where the Hessian flies will congregate, and may be 
destroyed by plowing under the wheat. Generally speaking, 
delay until killing frosts occur is too late for the best growth 
of wheat in the fall, except on fertile soils. Where it is neces- 
sary, therefore, to delay the seeding of wheat to escape the 
ravages of the Hessian fly, the seed bed should be put in the 
best possible condition both as to fertility and physical prop- 
erties. 

The results of the various stations show clearly that there is 
no best time for any given locality. Some seasons quite 
early sowing gave the largest yield, while other seasons late 
seeding gave the best results. Very much depends upon the 
season prior to and after seeding. It may be said as a 
general rule, although late sowing is often as good as early 
sowing, it is seldom better, while early sowing is often better 
than late sowing. The more fertile the soil, the later the 



CULTURE OF WHEAT 83 

seeding may be done with safety, as the rich soil produces 
the growth needed in a shorter time. Wheat often suffers 
in the fall from lack of rainfall. It is seldom injured from an 
excess of rainfall. As the time and manner of preparing the 
seed bed materially affects the moisture of the soil, the prepa- 
ration of the seed bed may have a decided influence upon the 
time of sowing. The earlier and better the seed bed is prepared 
the later the seeding is permissible. On the fortieth parallel 
at an altitude of 500 to 1,000 feet, winter wheat should be sown 
generally about September 20th, with variations of a week 
either way, depending upon various factors indicated above. 

While obviously not as many factors enter into the time of 
seeding of spring wheat as winter wheat, climatic and seasonal 
variations necessitate as wide variations perhaps in the former 
as in the latter. It may be laid down as a general rule that 
spring wheat should be sown as early as the ground can be got 
in fit condition for seeding. In both North Dakota and Minn- 
esota the earlier sown spring wheats gave best results, while in 
Utah a medium date gave the best yields. Delay of two or 
more weeks in sowing caused marked losses where conditions 
were those of Ontario and Quebec. In other provinces the loss 
from delay in sowing was less marked. Seeding should be finished 
by May ist in Ontario and Quebec, and in other provinces from 
May 15th to 25th.* 

130. Depth of Sowing. — This will vary with the kind of soil, 
the moisture, and the levelness and the firmness of the seed 
bed. Wheat may be sown deeper in a sandy soil than in a 
clay soil. It is necessary to sow deeper in a dry than in 
a wet soil. Variations in rainfall often materially modify the 
depth of seeding. It is reasonably well established that, under 
ordinary conditions, the nearer the seed is covered with one 
inch of moist soil, the better. An uneven and cloddy soil 
would require that some be planted deeper than is desirable 

1 Cent. Expt. Farm, Canada, Bui. 21. 



84 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

in order that all may be covered. A summary of the work 
of eight stations, mostly in the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys, 
aggregating twenty years' results, shows that in some instances 
four inches was at least as good as shallower depth, but in most 
instances one to three inches gave the best results, and indicates 
that usually it is not safe to go beyond these extremes. 

131. Drilling Compared with Broadcasting. — Stations of 
thirteen States have made experiments to compare drilling 
wheat with broadcasting it. The number of years' trial at 
a station varied from one to nine years and aggregate thirty- 
three years. Only two stations (Iowa and South Carolina) report, 
as the result of one year's trial, in favor of broadcasting. While 
in individual years broadcasting has produced the best results, 
at other stations the average of two or more years was in favor 
of drilling whether for fall or spring seeding. For fall seeding, 
the Ohio Station found as the result of nine years' trial t\vo 
bushels in favor of drilling; Indiana in four years' trial reports 
eight bushels gain, and Kentucky in three years' trial reports 
four bushels gain. For spring seeding, Minnesota in three 
years' trial reports two bushels gain; North Dakota in two 
years' trial reports five bushels gain, and South Dakota in two 
years' trial reports two bushels gain. While these differences 
are not great, they generally amply pay for any extra .cost 
of drilling, which is almost the universal practice for fall 
seeding. 

A number of reasons may be given for this practice, not 
all of which, however, will apply in any given locality. The 
wheat is more uniformly distributed and covered and is sown 
at a more even depth. Quick germination is insured by having 
the seed in moist soil. It is believed also to be less easily winter 
killed either by freezing or heaving. The drill makes little 
furrows in which the snow lodges and is prevented from being 
blown away. It has been abundantly proved that the amount 
of snow held in the furrows is sufficient to modify the temperature 



CULTURE OF WHEAT 85 

of the soil considerably. The wheat is less likely to be heaved 
out from freezing and thawing. The soil at the bottom of the 
furrow offers greater resistance to the heaving than does that 
at the top of the ridge. The movement of the soil will take 
place at the point of least resistance, which will be at the top 
of the ridgei thus increasing the chances of the plant at the 
bottom of the furrow to remain undisturbed. At the same time 
the loosened soil, aided by the rains, tends to fall into the furrows 
and thus further protect the plant. Just how much effect this 
has one year with another is not known, but in some trials during 
one year by the writer, where the furrows were obliterated by 
rolling, the yield was not materially affected. 

In the spring wheat districts, the winds tend to lay bare the 
seeds when broadcasted, while drilling rather tends to deepen 
the covering by partially filling up the furrows. Practice seems 
to show also that weeds are less troublesome in spring wheat 
when drilling is practiced, doubtless because it insures quicker 
germination of the wheat. 

132. Quantity of Seed per Acre. — The quantity of seed to be 
sown per acre will vary with the character of the soil, climate, 
time of seeding, seed bed, size, quality and variety of seed, and 
method of seeding. If sown early, less would be required than 
when sown late, because each plant would become larger, tiller 
more, and thus cover more ground. If the seed bed is well 
prepared, and the vitality of the seed good, a larger percentage 
of the seed will grow than if the seed bed and seed are poor. 
Fertile soil requires a less number of plants per acre than a poor 
soil because each plant tillers more and grows larger and thus 
occupies more room. A bushel of one variety may contain 
three times as many grains as another. A variety which tillers 
profusely could be sown thinner than one that does not. If 
drilled, a less quantity could be sown than if sown broadcast. 

The yield will not be at all in proportion to seed sown. 
The wheat plant adjusts itself to its surroundings. If sown 



86 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

thickly, it tillers but little and produces but few spikes per plant. 
If sown thinly, it stools more and the spikes are larger, often 
sufficiently to counterbalance the thin seeding. 

In climates where the winters are uniformly mild, much thin- 
ner seeding may be practiced than where the winters are severe. 
The fact seems to be that when the winters are mild the plant 
largely adjusts itself to its surroundings, so that it makes but 
little difference how much seed is sown within reasonable limits, 
but when the winter is severe and the wheat partly killed, if 
the wheat is sown thickly there may still be wheat enough left 
to raise a fair crop. 

The Statistician of the United States Department of Agricul- 
ture estimates the average quantity of winter wheat sown at 
I 3-8 bushels per acre, and of spring wheat at i 1-2 bushels per 
acre. Professor Brewer found by means of circular letters sent 
to representative farmers throughout the country that the amount 
sown in the Middle Atlantic States was seven to nine pecks, in 
the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys six to eight pecks, and in Cal- 
ifornia three to eight pecks, the smaller amount being used in 
the drier regions. 

Experiments have been carried on in the experiment stations 
of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas and Oklahoma for 
periods ranging from three to eleven years, aggregating thirty- 
three years' trials. In no case was the largest average yield at 
any of these stations made with less than six pecks of seed per 
acre, or more than eight pecks. Two stations report in favor of 
six pecks, one in favor of seven pecks, and three in favor of 
eight pecks. The Ohio Station not only reports in favor of 
eight pecks, but also states that with the thicker seeding the 
weight per bushel is greater, and consequently the quality of 
seed better.^ In some cases, on moderately fertile soil, better 
results were obtained with nine to ten pecks. In experiments 
of all the stations the variation in yield between five and 

1 Ohio Bui. 118. 



CULTURE OF WHEAT 



87 



eight pecks was not usually large. In ordinary practice the ten- 
dency seems to be to use too little rather than too much seed. 



133. Influence of Size of Seed.^ — Ontario 
Agricultural College, by selecting seed of 
winter and spring wheat, oats, barley and 
peas during five to eight years, found the 
average yield of grain and straw and the 
weight of grain per measured bushel to be 
in favor of large, plump seed as compared 
with medium-sized or small seed.^ Indiana 
found an average gain during three years 
of 2.5 bushels in favor of large seed. Kan- 
sas Station found on an average of four 
years a slightly higher yield from wheat 
with high weight per bushel.^ Nebraska 
Station found that large heavy seed gave 
much better yields than unselected seed.^ 
North Dakota Station concludes as the 
result of four years' tests that perfect 
grains of large size and greatest weight 
produce better plants than perfect grains 
of smaller size and weight, even if the 
grains come from the same spike.* A 
summary of nine years' results at the 
Ohio Station with selected seed, second 
grade and unscreened seed, shows that 
neither the quantity nor the quality of the 
crop was varied by the seed used.^ No 
marked difference was obtained at Penn- 

• Ont. Agr. Col. Expt. Farms Rpt. 1901, pp. 82-1 11. 

2 Kan. Bui. 59, pp. 89-105. 

3 Neb. Bui. 72. 

* N. Dak. Rpt. 1901, pp. 30-44. 
5 Ohio Bui. 29, p. 25. 







®99d 



Spike of wheat grown in 
New South Wales, one- 
half natural size, show- 
ing relative size of 
grains as extracted 
from spikelets on one 
side only of the spike 
(After Cobb.) 



88 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

sylvania Station between seed from threshing machines and that 
selected by hand.^ At the Tennessee Station, with two varieties, 
while in general the yield was in favor of the larger seed, it was 
not uniformly so. The evidence showed that the largest grains 
usually came from the largest spikes, but the seed from the 
largest spikes did not always give the largest yield.^ Middleton, 
at the University College of Wales, obtained nearly double the 
yield of wheat from large seed than from small seed.* Lu- 
banski has experimented in Russia with winter wheat, barley, 
oats and sugar beets, and finds the yield, and to some extent the 
quality, influenced in favor of large seed.* Desprez, at Grignon, 
France, has conducted experiments with several varieties for 
several years, the general results being in favor of the large 
seed. Diffeient weights of seed were sown with each variety, 
but the same weights of large and small seed were sown : thus 
no two plats received the same number of seeds.^ In 1900, 
Deherain reports from the same station but slightly better results 
from large seed.^ Cobb reports tests of various sizes, of wheat 
grains and concludes that the superior yield from large, plump 
grain is sufficient to justify the cost of first-class cleaning 
machinery.'^ 

The results of foreign experiments are rather uniformly in 
favor of large seed : some experiments showing rather striking 
results. A careful analysis of all American experiments appears 
to show that where large and small seed are obtained by the 
use of the ordinary fanning mill the yield has been only slightly 
if at all increased on account of the seed, while apparently, 
where greater care is taken in the selection, a moderate increase 

1 Penn. Rpt. 1893, P- ^'^^• 

2 Tenn. Bui. Vol. XIV, No. 2 (1901), pp. 42-47. 

5 University College of Wales Rpt. 1S99, pp. 68-70. 

4 Selsk. Khoz. i Lyesov. 200 (1901), Mar., pp. 611-617. (E. S. R. XIV, 432.) 

6 Jour. Agr. Prat. 2 (1897), No. 37, pp. 416-420. 

6 Ann. Agron. 26 (1900), No. i, pp. 20-23. (E. S. R. XII, 233.) 
J Seed Wheat, pp. 1-60 : Sidney, 1903. 



CULTURE OF WHEAT 



89 



in the yield has been obtained. In a number of experiments the 
influence of the number of seeds per acre has not been eliminated. 
If the grains of the spikelets of wheat be designated by 
numbers according to the distance from the spikelet, it has been 
foiuid that grains occupying the second place are the heaviest ; 
that those in the first and the third place are about equal in 
weight; while grains in the fourth and the fifth place, if any, are 
still lighter. It is also found that of grains occupying the same 
relative position, those on the lower half of the spike are the larger. 
The following table gives results with two varieties of wheat : ^ 



Martin Amber 


Spalding 


Prolific 


Place 


Below 


Above 


Below 


Above 


in 


middle 


middle 


middle 


middle 


spikelet 


mg. 


mg. 


mg. 


mg. 


I 


59.8 


52.3 


60.6 


52.4 


2 


66.6 


57.2 


68.4 


60.7 


3 


56.1 


47.2 


62.6 


52.9 


4 


32-1 




51.2 


30.6 


5 




.... 


45.6 


.... 



It would thus appear that small and large grains come from the 
same plant, varying in size because of their position, as do the 
grains of maize on the ear. If the plant and not the individual 
seed is the unit of reproduction, small seeds from productive 
plants will be better than large seeds from unproductive plants, 
provided productivity is due to heredity and not to environment, 
except in so far as large seeds may give the plant a more vigor- 
ous start in life. (43) It has been shown, however, that on an 
average, the larger spikes contain the larger grains, so that in 
selecting the larger grains the larger number of them would 
come from the larger spikes.^ 

134. Treatment of Seed. — Before sowing, the seed should 
be carefully screened in a fanning mill, or wheat grader, or 

1 Kurt Rumker: Jour, of Landw. 38 (1890), p. 309. 

2 Seed Wheat, pp. 1-60: Sidney, 1903. 



90 



THE CEREAI.S IN AMERICA 




preferably both, not only to eliminate all small and unde- 
veloped grains, but to remove weed seeds and diseased grains, 
if any. 

If seed comes from plants that have been affected with stink- 
ing smut (149), the seed sbould be immersed in cold water and 

stirred, when the smut 
balls will rise to the sur- 
face and can be skimmed 
off. The seed should then 
be sprinkled or immersed 
thirty minutes in a solution 
of formalin mixed at the 
rate of fifty gallons of 
water to one pound of 
formalin (forty per cent 
solution of formaldehyde). 
Blue stone solution or hot 
water may be used in place 
of the formalin. (149) In 
case wheat has been af- 
fected with the loose smut 
the wheat may be given 
the modified hot water 
treatment. (148) It is 
necessary in such case to 
use one-half more seed to replace seed injured by treatment. 
Since loose smut is usually not very destructive, it will probably 
be rarely advisable to resort to treatment of seed for loose smut 

135. Wheat Seeding Machinery. — For broadcasting small 
areas, the hand grass seeder will do satisfactory work when it is 
not too windy. The usual horse broadcast seeder is not unlike 
the wheat drill, except the wheat is scattered directly from the 
hopper onto the surface of the ground instead of being conveyed 
by means of hoes underground. Standard widths are eight, 



A seed wheat grader suitable for use by wheat 
growers. Wheat is sorted according to size of 
grains and not according to specific gravity. 
The screen is a cylinder of perforated sheet 
metal, actuated by the crank E. A brush, AA, 
an important feature, is held against the screen 
by the springs, BB. Meshes ranging from two 
to three millimeters may be used ; where only 
one size is supplied, 2.5 millimeters (one-tenth 
inch) should be used for American wheat. (After 
Cobb.) 



CULTURE OF WHEAT 



91 




The broadcast grain seeder. 



eleven and fourteen feet. The wheat drill is made in three 

general forms : (i) hoe drills, (2) disk drills, and (3) drills 

with runners or shoes. The drill with runners also usually 

has a wheel behind each 

runiier which is designed 

to press the earth firmly 

about the seed. Wheels 

are also sometimes used 

on disk drills. Where 

these wheels are used they 

are known as press drills. 

The first form of drill is made with shovels, called hoes, which 

open the ground and permit the seed to be introduced in a 

stream into the soil behind each hoe. The hoe drills will operate 

under a larger number of 
conditions, but are heavy 
of draft and are liable to 
clog when the soil contains 
much rubbish. The disk 
drills draw easier, and are 
not so liable to be clogged 
with rubbish, but are not 
so well adapted to stony 
or hilly land and will not 
work so well in wet soil. 
The drills with runners 
have not been extensively 
employed. The hoes are 
made so as to run either 
seven or eight inches 

apart. When the hoes are seven inches apart, nine, ten and 

eleven hoes, and when eight inches apart, six and eight hoes, 

are standard sizes. 

There is no evidence to show that one width of seeding 

is better than another. Eight-inch drills are less liable to clog 




Grain drill. Three methods employed in opening 
the soil for the introduction of the seed are 
shown below. 



92 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 




The hand seeder. 



with rubbish than seven-inch, although the z'lgzzg arrangement 
on both sizes lessens the importance of this difference. 

Wheat drills may be purchased with and without grass seeder 
attached, and with and without fertilizer drill. The grass seeder 
scatters the seed broadcast either in 
front or behind the drills as preferred, 
while the fertilizer is conveyed into 
the ground by the same channel as 
the grain. There are a number of 
different methods of conveying the 
grain and the fertilizers from their 
respective hoppers, most of which are 
satisfactory. Those forms which vary 
the amount sown by means of variation in the sizes of cog 
wheels used are probably the best. These drills are usually 
intended to sow the seeds of all ordinary field crops. 

136. Cultivation. — The cultivation of wheat much as we cul- 
tivate maize in this country was formerly vigorously advocated 
and somewhat practiced in England. This practice has never 
been common in the United States, and only one station 
(Alabama) out of seven which have reported trials has found it 
beneficial as compared with the usual method. In most cases 
it has been found decidedly detrimental. A number of stations 
have reported in favor of harrowing wheat drilled in the ordinary 
manner one or two weeks after seeding. The Ohio Station 
reports that harrowing winter wheat in the spring did no harm. 

137. Rolling. — Winter wheat may be rolled in the spring, 
when there is much heaving of soil, in order to pack the soil 
about the roots. The cost of thus smoothing the surface may 
often be repaid by the increased facility with which the crop can 
be har\'ested. When grass seed is sown with the grain, rolling 
should never be neglected. 



I 



VI. 

WHEAT. 

I. WEEDS, FUNGOUS DISEASES AND INSECT ENEMIES. 

138. "Weeds. — A great variety of weeds occur in the wheat 
field which may reduce the yield or injuriously affect the quality 
of the grain. In general they are to be avoided by those con- 
ditions which best promote the growth of wheat, and by sowing 
wheat that is free from foreign seeds. 

There are a few species of plants that are so associated with 
the raising of wheat as to deserve special mention. The pres- 
ence of a considerable quantity of any of these weeds in a wheat 
field must, of course, somewhat reduce the yield of wheat. But 
the principal injur}^ perhaps, is in the reduction in the quality of 
the grain, due to the presence of the weed seeds. 

(i) Chess or cheat {Bromus sccalimts L.) 

(2) Darnel {Loliimi tcmnlcntum L.) 

(3) Cockle {Agroste^nvia gitJiago L.) 

(4) Wild garlic (Alliitni vineale L.) 

(5) Wheat-thief {LitJiospermum arvense L.) 

139. Chess. — Chess belongs to a different tribe {FesUiceae) of the grass family 
from that of wheat (Hordeae), which includes, also, some of our best known pasture 
and meadow grasses. It is an annual and so closely resembles wheat while young 
as not to be distinguished from it by the ordinary observer. It will stand more cold 
than the wheat plant, is not attacked by insects especially injurious to wheat, is a 
less vigorous grower than the wheat plant, but is much more prolific tlian wheat 
when its development is not prevented by the growth of the more vigorous wheat 
plant. The author sowed one pound of chess on one-twentieth of an acre and 
reaped ninety-nine pounds of seed. A single plant has been known to produce 3,000 
seeds. The seeds which adhere to the paleae are so small that a pound of chess 
may contain as many seeds as a bushel of wheat. Experiment has shown that chess 
seed will grow when sown, and that the young plants can be distinguished from 
wheat plants. It has also been shown that when wheat only is sown in clean ground 
only wheat is obtained; tliat when wheat and chess are sown both wheat and chess 



94 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



Chess. 
( One-fourth 
natural size.) 



are obtained, and when chess only is sown only chess is obtained. It has been 
shown further that in order to obtain seed from chess, chess must be sown the pre- 
ceding fall. WTien sown in the spring it does not produce seed for 
the same reason that winter lye and winter wheat do not. It is not 
found, therefore, in any but fall sown crops, and is less abundant in 
rye than wheat, because of the greater hardiness of rye as compared 
with wheat. The above habits are sufficient to explain the abun- 
dant development of this plant in wheat which has been injured by 
winter killing or by the Hessian fly when the sowing of clean seed 
has not been continuously 
practiced. The introduc 
tion of chess seed in the 
grain seriously injures its 
market value, as the chess 
must be removed before 
the wheat is ground. The 
machinery for this purpose 

\in large milling establish- 
ments has reached great 
perfection. Hackel says 
that flour containing an ad- 
mixture of chess willbe dark 
colored, remain moist and 
is narcotic, l Chess can be removed rather 
readily from the seed wheat by the ordi- 
nary fanning mills. When wheat is treated 
for smut, if the grains are stirred in the solu 
tion, any remaining chess seeds will come 
to the surface and can be skimmed off. 

140. Darnel. — Darnel belongs to 
the same tribe of grasses as wheat, to the 
same genus as perennial and Italian rye 
grass. Unlike these grasses, however, it 
is an annual. It occurs in grain crops of 
Europe and is also reported occurring in 
wheat fields of California, where it is 
known as chess. This plant is supposed 
to be the "tares'" spoken of in the Bible. 
Like chess it is said to contain a narcotic 
principle which causes eruptions, tremb- 
ling and confusion of sight in man, and in flesh-eating animals, and Very strongly 
in rabbits, but does not affect swine, horned cattle or ducks.2 Darnel may be 
removed from wheat intended for seed by tlie same method as chess. 

1 The True Grasses, p. 168. 

2 Ibid, p. 173. 




II 



Cockle. (One-fourth natural size.) 



ENEMIES OF WHEAT 



95 



141. Cockle. — Cockle is a widely and anciently distributed weed of the wheat 
field, belonging to the pink family {Caryophyllactae). It grows from one to two feet 
high and is readily distinguished 
by its large pink blossom. Its seeds 
are black, angular, kidney-shaped, 
one-half to one-eighth of an inch 
across, marked with spiny reticula- 
tions arranged in rows around the 
curved side of the seeds. They 
are quite injurious to flour, and as 
they are readily seen in the grain, 
reduce the commercial value of 
the wheat. They are so near the 
size and weight of wheat grains 
as to be removed with difficulty. 
They may remain in the ground 
several years without germinating. 
As the plant is rather conspicuous 
and its number usually not rela- 
tively large, they may be pulled 
from the growing wheat. 

142. Wild Garlic. — This 
weed is sometimes found in the 
wheat fields of eastern United 
States. It grows one to three feet 
high and bears a cluster of bulblets 
in place of seed. When these bulb- 




Wild garlic. (One-fourth natural size.) 




Wheat-thief. 

B, seed enlarged 

(After Selby.) 



lets are ground with tlie wheat the flour is spoiled. Careful 
screening will remove the bulblets from the wheat. If the land 
is badly infested, it should be put into cultivated crops for 
at least two years. 

143. Wheat-Thief. — This winter annual is also known as 
bastard alkanet, corn gromwell, redroot, pigeonweed. It grows 
si.K to twelve inches high and has narrow rough hairy leaves. It 
bears a large number of inconspicuous whitish flowers in a leaf 
cluster in March and .April. The seeds are hard and stony, dark, 
one-tenth of an inch long, roughened, conical with a narrow base, 
and borne in fours in the axils of the leaves. The plant is very 
hard to destroy, without destroying the wheat crop, which may 
in some cases be advisable. It is probably less of a pest to the 
wheat than it is to the subsequent meadows. Badly infested 
fields should be put into cultivated crops. 



144. Wild Mustard. — There are two mustards, black mustard (Brassica nigra, 
(L.) Koch) and wild mustard or charlock {B. sinapistrum I-) found growing in spring 



96 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



sown cereals, of which the wild mustard is the most common. It is so common in 
spring wheat that the seed has become a by-product of flouring mills. The mus- 
tards are tall prickly plants with large leaves and bright yellow flowers. The wild 
mustard is distinguished from the black mustard on account of its long knotted pod 
being a stout two-edged beak. Seeds are dai^ brown to black, commonly spherical, 
one-twentieth of an inch in diameter, slightly granular-roughed. It has been found 
that by spraying wheat or oat fields with a three per cent solution of copper sul- 
phate (about ten pounds to the barrel, or forty gallons, of water) at the rate of fifty 
gallons of solution to the acre, the mustard may be killed without injury to the 
cereal.l The treatment is most effective if made in clear bright weather. 

145. Fungous Diseases. — The more im- 
portant fungi which attack the wheat plant 
are given below : 

(i) 'Rwst (^P ?(cci?iia graminis Pers. and 
P. nibigo-vcra (D C.) ) 

(2) Wheat scab {Fitsariiim. roseum Lk.) 

(3) Loose smut {Ustilago tritici Jen- 
sen.) 

(4) Stinking smut (Tilletia foetens 
B. & C.) 

Another little studied fungus causes rather 
conspicuous dark spots upon the glumes of 
wheat, and has been given the name of 
"glume spot." There is no known remedy. 

146. Rust. — The rusts of wheat in the United States 
belong to two closely allied species, black stem rust and 
orange leaf rust, only the latter of which it is believed 
can pass the winter in the wheat plant.2 There are two 
stages of rust found on the wheat plant : (i) the red rust, 
caused by one-celled spherical nredospores^ which com- 
monly does not survive the winter, and (2) the black rust, 
caused by elongated two-celled tekuiospores, which may 
pass the winter upon the ripened plant. It is believed 
that the rust plant may enter the wheat plant at the 
time of germination, or later if opportunity offers. 

The loss caused from rust is difficult to estimate, but it is undoubtedly very large. 
It is encouraged by hot moist weather during the ripening period. There is no 

1 Cornell Bui. 216 (1904), p. 107. 

2 P , rubigo-vera (DC.) 




The black rust on wheat. 



ENEMIES OF WHEAT 



97 




known remedy. A great deal of study has been given to the discovery or production 
of rust proof varieties of wlieat, with as yet little if any success. 

147. Wheat Scab. — The scab fungus is believed to be tlie conidial stage of a 
fungus which in its ascigerous stage is called GibbereUa saubinettii (Mont.) Sacc 
The fungus attacks the glumes, causing dead sections of the 

spike, whose brown color is in striking contrast with the green 
healthy glumes. At times the whole spike is destroyed. It 
may be identified by the pink incrustations at the base of the 
dead glumes and covering tlie rachis. 

Usually the losses are inconsiderable, although under 
conditions favorable to the fungus, it may amount to ten per 
cent or more. There is no remedy known, but where wheat 
is to follow scabby wheat the burning of the stubble has 
been recommended.l 

148. Loose Smut. — This fungus belongs to the same 
genus as the smut so commonly found on maize. The 
spores adhering to the grain germinate and enter the young 
wheat plant through the sheath of the first leaf. The fungus 
grows within the wheat plant without external manifestation 
until the wheat plant is about to flower, when the whole spike 
except the rachis is reduced to a mass of black smut spores. 

The loss from loose smut is rarely large, although as high 
as eight per cent has been reported.^ The remedy is known 
as the modified hot water treatment and is as follows : 

Soak the seed grain for four hours in cold water, let stand 
for four hours more in the wet sacks, then immerse for 
five minutes in water at a temperature of 133° F. ; then dry 
and S0W.3 Since this treatment injures the germinating 
power of the seed, one-half more seed per acre is required. 
The purchase of non-infected seed is also to be recommended. 

149. Stinking Smut. — Stinking smut is closely allied to the loose smut of 
wheat, in form and habit, although differing from it in the character and extent of 
its injury. It affects only the grains, which are considerably enlarged, the interior 
being converted into blackish, offensive smelling masses of spores, which, when they 
find their way into the flour, make it unfit for food. The glumes being unaffected, 
the disease often escapes observation until after the grain is threshed. Losses from 
this smut are rather general and often considerable, amounting in some instances to 
at least forty per cent, which, practically speaking, ruins the crop. 

Any one of the following remedies has been found effective : 

(i) Hot water : Place seed in any bag or basket which will readily admit water 
and immerse for ten minutes in hot water at 133" F. ; then cool quickly by immers- 
ing in cold water or by stirring thoroughly while drying. 

1 Ohio Bui. 97, p. 42. 

2 Ohio Bui. 42, p. 93. 
8 Ohio Bui, 97, p. 60. 



Wheat spike with 
scab : Upper por- 
tion has been de- 
stroyed by the 
pink fungus. One- 
half natural size, 
(After Selby.) 



98 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 




(2) Blue stone or copper sulphate: Immerse for ten minutes in a solution of 
copper sulphate at the rate of one pound to five gallons of water. Allow to stand 
for ten minutes in bag or basket to drain ; then spread and dry. Or the seed may 
be sprinkled at the rate of one gallon of the solution to four bushels of the grain, 
sprinkling and stirring until thoroughly wet. At the end of an hour dry. 

(3) Formalin: Treat seed by sprinkling or 
immersion for thirty minutes with a solution of 
one pound of formalin (forty per cent solution of 
formaldehyde) to fifty gallons of water. 

In all treatments it is desirable first to stir seed 
into a tub of cold water and skim off the smut balls 
which rise to the surface. After treatment, the 
drying may be hastened by using slaked lime, but 
the lime is not essential. 

150. Insect Enemies of Growing 
Wheat. — More than one hundred spe- 
cies of insects are known to feed upon 
the growing wheat plant, but very 
few are sufficiently injurious to be 
of economic importance. These few, 
however, do enormous damage. 

The chinch bug has been estimated 
to cause a loss of over a hundred 
million dollars to wheat alone in the 
United States in a single year.^ 

The five most important insect enemies of wheat are as 
follows : 

(i) The chinch bug (Bliss ns leiicopteriis Say.) 

The Hessian fly {Cccidomyia destt'uctor Say.) 
The wheat bulb-worm {Alcroviyza americana Fitch.) 
The wheat midge {Diplosis tritici Kirby.) 
The wheat plant-louse {Nectarophora cerealis Kalt.) 
Of the above, the chinch bug and the Hessian fly are by far 
the most destructive, although the others frequently do consider- 
able damage. Among the wheat insects of secondary importance 



stinking smut. Single grain 
much enlarged on the right. 
(After Kellerman.) 



(0 
(3) 
(4) 

(5) 



1 C. L, Marlatt: The Principal Insect Enemies of Growing Wheat. 
of Agr., Farmers' Bui. 132, p. 6. 



U.S. Dept. 



ENEMIES OF WHEAT 



99 



are the wheat straw worms, army worms, wheat sawflies. In the 
past, grasshoppers, especially the migratory species, have done 
enormous damage to wheat, but at present this class of insects 
usually do their greatest injury to meadows and pastures. 

There are two general causes for the great damage done to 
wheat and other grain crops by insects. The long hot summers 
and the present practice of growing somewhat continuously 
large areas of wheat on the same land produce favorable con- 
ditions for their rapid multiplication. The rotation of crops 
and a more thorough and more intensive system of agriculture 
will tend to hold these insects in check. 




The chinch bug: Adult on the left; eggs upon the right; four 
larval stages between. (Adapted from Riley and Webster.) 



151. The Chinch Bug. — The appearance of the si.\ different stages from the 
egg to the adult chinch bug is shown in this paragraph. The newly hatched larva is 
of a pale reddish color 
with a yellow band 
across the first two 
abdominal segments. 
As the insect changes 
from one stage to an- 
other it changes some- 
what in appearance 
by becoming increas- 
ingly darker in color 
and finally in the 
adult f ormby the white 
wings. So that while 
in the first larval stage 

the color was principally red and yellow, in the adult form it is black and white. 
There is also an adult form with short wings. 

The chinch bug passes the winter in the adult form under any object which may 
offer protection from wet and cold. The grass stools of pastures and meadows, 
stalks of maize, straw, rubbish in fence and hedgerows furnish them a winter home. 
The eggs for the spring brood are deposited on the plants beneath the soil not 
far from May ist. These eggs reach the adult stage during July ; while the second 
brood reaches its maximum damage in August and its adult stage in September and 
October. It is the first brood that does the most damage to the wheat, rye or barley, 
and less frequently to oats, during the last few weeks of the growth of the crop. 
In the early part of July this brood migrates to maize fields, thereby injuring this 
crop also. 

Preventive measures aside from those already mentioned (150) are the clean- 
ing up or burning of all rubbish or vegetation in fields and fence rows under whicli 
the chinch bugs may hibernate. There is no remedy for them while in the wheat 



l.olG. 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



crop, but they may be trapped while mig^ting to maize fields by means of barriers 
of various sorts. Millet or Hungarian grass is probably the most effective. After 
the chinch bugs have congregated in the millet, they should be plowed under 
deeply, — preferably after spraying with pure kerosene oil. Usually, however, the 
chinch bug has migrated to the maize fields before protective measures have been 
inaugurated. The best remedy then is to spray with pure kerosene in the early 
morning when the chinch bugs will be congregated at the base of the maize plants. 
The kerosene ■will do some injury to the maize but not nearly so much as the chinch 
bugs. 

The chinch bug is attacked by two parasitic fungi which tend to hold it in check. 
A number of experiment stations have propagated and distributed these fungi to 
farmers for the purpose of spreading them among healthy insects. It has been 
found, however, that this method is practically effective only during the moist cool 
weather when the insects are destroyed without the introduction of the disease 
germs. While the insects are j'oung, even after they have wings, they are migratory 
in habit, but when the time for the union of sexes comes they take to wing and are 
no longer noticed by the casual observer. It happens that this occurs from one to 
three weeks after they migrate to maize fields. Frequently remedies have been 
reported effective, when in fact the disappearance of the chinch bugs was due to 
their midsummer flight. 

152. The Hessian Fly. — The Hessian fly is a small, two-winged, dusky-col- 
ored insect, about one- 
eighth of an inch long. 
It is distinctly a wheat 
pest, but it will also 
feed upon barley and 
rye.l On accoimt of 
its small size, the adult 
insect is seldom ob- 
served, and less seldom 
identified. Crane flies, 
much larger insects, 
often swarm about 
wheat fields and may 
be mistaken for the 
Hessian fly. 

The Hessian fly is usually two-brooded, although it may be one-brooded in the 
northern spring wheat districts, or in the more southerly section of the United 
States may be three-brooded, the third brood living upon voluntary wheat in the 
summer months. When two-brooded, the fall brood reaches the adult stage during 
the latter part of August, during September and the first days of October, depend- 
ing upon latitude and other seasonal conditions. The adults probably disappear 
with the first sharp frost. At any rate, the condition which is most favorable to the 




Hessian fly: A, adult, about three times natural size; 
B, flaxseed, slightly enlarged ; C, larvae, slightly enlarged. 
(After Washburn.) 



1 Cornell Bui. 194, p. 255. 



ENEMIES OK WHEAT lOI 

insect is mild weather for four to six weeks after the wheat is planted. The spring 
brood reaches the adult stage during the latter part of April, during May and the 
first part of June. 

The adult lays an oval-shaped egg, reddish in color, one-fiftieth of an inch long, 
on the inner side of the leaf blade. The egg hatches in a few days into a pinkish 
larva, soon changing to greenish, which finds its way down to the base of the leaf 
sheath. As the eggs in the fall are usually laid upon the youngest plants, the larvae 
are to be found somewhat under the ground, where they kill the diminutive culm. 
In this case the plant will be killed unless it has tillered, and some of the tillered 
culms escape. In the spring the eggs are laid on leaves somewhat higher up and 
the larvae will be found at the base of the first two or three leaves above the ground, 
where the injury causes many of the culms to fall before the grain is ripe. The 
puparium of the insect resembles in form and color a flaxseed. The pupal stage is 
therefore called the " flaxseed stage." When two-brooded, this insect passes the 
winter and the summer in the flaxseed stage. 

Preventive measures are (i) late sowing, preferably delayed until after sharp 
frosts ; (2) rotation of crops ; (3) burning stubble ; (4) sowing strips of wheat early 
as baits to be plowed under as soon as eggs have been laid. Of these the first two 
are to be especially recommended. The Hessian fly has many parasitic insects, 
otherwise it would probably make the raising of wheat impossible. Burning the 
stubble will destroy the parasites as well as the Hessian fly, which may not always 
be advisable. The destruction of organic matter also usually will not be desirable. 
In order to get the best results from late sowing it is advisable for farmers to act 
together, else the spring brood from the early sown wheat may attack the field which 
has escaped the fall brood. 

There are no Hessian fly proof varieties of wheat, although those varieties which 
tiller most freely and have the stiffest and hardest culms will doubtless resist their 
attacks the best. 

153. The Wheat Bulb-worm. — The wheat bulb-worm is a two-winged fly 
with essentially the same habits as the Hessian fly, except that it lives upon oats as 
well as several grasses, including timothy. The injury from the fall brood is almost 
identical with that of the Hessian fly; while the spring brood lays its eggs usually 
upon the upper leaf, thus causing the culm to wither and die above the upper node. 
While the Hessian fly therefore usually remains in the stubble after harvest, the 
wheat bulb-worm is carried from the field with the straw. The damage done by this 
insect is much less than that of the Hessian fly, for which it is doubtless frequently 
mistaken. 

154. The Wheat Midge. — The wheat midge is also a two-winged insect. 
About the time the wheat is in the flower, the adult lays its eggs singly or in 
clusters to the number of ten upon the glumes of the wheat spike. The larvae 
suck the milky juice from the young grains, causing them to shrivel. They 
impart their orange-yellow color to the blighted spike. The insect is probably third 
in the injury to the wheat plant, but unlike the chinch bug and the Hessian fly, 
it thrives best in moist weather. The larvae enter the ground after about three 
weeks and pass the winter in the pupal stage. Many, however, are still in the 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 




spikes when harvested, and are believed to survive in the straw for months without 
food or moisture. 

Preventive measures are (i) the burning of chaff and screenings as soon as the 
wheat is threshed, and (2) deep plowing of stubble field to bury the larvae and pupae. 

155. The Wheat Plant-louse. — This insect appears on winter wheat in 
September, going through several generations in the early fall but doing little damage. 
If the spring is cool and moist, its natural enemies may fail to hold it in check and 
it may then cause considerable damage. Extensive damage has occurred only at 
rare intervals, as in 1861 and iSijg. l No effective remedy has yet been suggested. 

156. Insects Injurious TO Stored 
Grain. — While upwards of forty differ- 
ent species of insects occur in granaries, 
f*lie following four species are the most 
injurious: 2 

(i) The granary weevil (Calandra 
granaria L.) 

(2) The rice weevil (Calandra oryza L.) 

(3) The Angoumois grain moth (Sitot- 
roga cerealella Oliv.) 

(4) The wolf moth (Linca granella L.) 
The first two are beetles and the last two moths. The larvae of the first three 

live within the grains, as do the adults of both weevils. This adds very much to 

their injurious effects, to the ease with which they may 

be distributed, and the difficulty of eradication. All 

breed more rapidly in warm than in cold weather and 

consequently do their greatest damage in the southern 

sections of the country, where they cause enormous losses. 

The simplest and best remedy is the use of bisulphide 
of carbon at the rate of one pound to one ton of grain or 
in empty rooms for every 1,000 cubic feet. 

There are a number of insects injurious to flour. 
The Mediterranean flour moth (Ephestiakxielmiella Zell.) 
has recently become a most serious pest, requiring 
the adoption of extensive precautions in flouring mills to guard against its ravages. 



Beetle and larva of the granary weevil. 
(After Chittenden.) 



Adult and larva of the 
Angoumois grain moth. 
(After Chittenden.) 



II. HARVESTING AND PRESERVATION. 



157. Date of Harvesting.— The wheat harvest of the United 
States begins in Texas in May and ends in the Dakotas in 
August. In California the hai"vest begins about June ist and 

1 U. S. Dept. of Agr., Farmers' Bui. 132, p. 24. 

2 For a description and life history of these insects see U. S. Dept. of Agr., 
Farmers' Bui, 45. 



HARVESTING WHEAT I03 

lasts till August ist. Everywhere east of the Great Plains, 
wheat is cut as soon as or a little before it is ripe, and the har- 
vest extends on any one farm not longer than two or three weeks, 
the wheat being cut as fast as it is ready. In California, where 
there is no danger from rain, the harvest extends for many 
weeks after the wheat is ripe, some of it standing even ten 
weeks after it is ripe enough to cut. The only damage done to 
the standing wheat in this section is by occasional sand storms. 
The type of wheat usually raised is the club or square head, 
whose short culms prevent it from lodging. 

The calendar of the wheat harvest of the world is given by 
Edgar as follows : 

" In January, Australasia, Chili and Argentina ; in February and March, East 
India, Upper Egypt; in April, Lower Egypt, Asia Minor and Mexico; in May, Algeria, 
Central Asia, China, Japan and Texas ; in June, Turkey, Spain, southern France, 
California, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, Kansas, Utah and Missouri; in July, 
Roumania, Austria-Hungary, soutliern Russia, Germany, Switzerland, France, 
southern England, Oregon, Nebraska, southern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Colorado, 
Washington, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, New York, New England, 
eastern Canada; in August, Holland, Belgium, Great Britain, Denmark, Poland, 
western Canada, the Dakotas ; in September and October, Scotland, Sweden, Nor- 
way, North Russia ; in November, Peru and South Africa ; in December, Burmah 
and Argentina." 1 

158. Stage of Maturity on Yield. — The usual practice in the 
eastern half of the United States is to cut when the straw begins 
to turn yellow and the grains are in the dough, soft enough to 
be easily indented with the thumb nail and hard enough not to 
be easily crushed between the fingers. Investigations indicate 
that there is a continuous increase of the plant during its growth 
until the plant is entirely ripe. There is a continuous increase 
in the weight of the grain from the time it is formed until it is 
hard and dry. The increase in weight of grain is most rapid 
up to the time when the grain can be crushed between the 
thumb and finger. The increase seems to be decided and of 
economic importance up to the time when the grains indent but 

1 Wm. C. Edgar: Story of a Grain of Wheat (1903), p. 191. 



104 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

do not crush under the pressure of the thumb nail. After that 
time the increase is slight. The indications are that if allowed 
to stand beyond the period of full maturation, a slight decrease 
in the actual substance of the grain may take place. This is 
explained by Deherain on the ground that the seed continues 
to respire, thus giving off carbon dioxide. 

159, Influence of Ripening Upon Composition. — In general, 
there is a decrease in the percentage of ash, nitrogen and fiber 
as the grain ripens, due to the increase in carbohydrates other 
than fiber. This is due to the endosperm developing later in the 
growth of the wheat. The germ develops first, and later, when 
the endosperm develops, the percentage of ash and nitrogen 
becomes less, although the actual amount may remain the same, 
or, as is probably the case, may increase. The changes in com- 
position after the grain has reached the dough stage appear to 
be very slight.^ 

While the stage of maturity of grain through the ordinary 
range of wheat harvest does not affect materially the quality 
(composition) of the grain, climatic conditions which affect the 
full maturity of the grain may materially modify the quality. 
The higher percentage of nitrogen in the spring wheat is prob- 
ably due, in part at least, to a lack of full maturation. (74) 
The per cent of nitrogen decreases somewhat in the straw 
up to the dough stage. The per cent of crude fiber increases 
in the straw throughout the ripening period, while there are 
corresponding decreases in the other carbohydrates. 

160. Influence of Shocking. — There is always danger of over- 
ripe grain shelling out in the harvesting, and there is also 
danger of lodging. It is not good farm practice, therefore, to 
delay harvesting until wheat is entirely ripe. Investigations 
have proved beyond question that at the early stages of seed 
formation a considerable transfer of material from the straw to 

IMich. Bui. loi, p. 8. 



HARVESTING WHEAT I05 

the grain may occur after cutting, when the wheat is placed 
in a condition similar to the shocking and capping of bound 
sheaves.^ Prompt shocking and capping, therefore, facilitate 
the completion of the ripening process. Where it is necessary 
to cut the wheat quite green, it is important that the sheaves 
should not be left long on the ground exposed to the hot sun 

161. Method of Shocking. — The sheaves may be put in long 
shocks by placing pairs of sheaves in a row, about a dozen 
bundles to the shock, or preferably in round shocks with caps, 
twelve to sixteen bundles to the shock, depending upon the 
size of the bundles, the stage of maturity and the amount of 
green weeds. In building a shock of twelve bundles, place 
three pairs in a row, then place two bundles on each side, 
making ten bundles. Now lay one bundle on the top, then take 
another bundle, break both ends of the bundle at the band, 
spreading the ends fan-shape, and lay this crosswise of first 
bundle. In some cases only one bundle is used, treating it 
as just indicated, and in other instances the caps are entirely 
omitted. Usually, however, capping with two bundles is to be 
preferred. In building a shock of sixteen bundles, place four 
pairs in a row, then three bundles on each side, and cap with 

•two bundles. Both for efficiency and economy of time, two 
bundles should be handled at once, and care should be taken to 
place the bundles firmly on the ground. There is a knack in 
shocking that may be easily learned by practice, which adds 
greatly to the ability of the shocks to withstand wind storms 

162. Methods of Harvesting — There are four types of power 
machines for harvesting wheat and other stored grain in the 
United States at the present time. They are : (i) the self-rake 
reaper ; (2) the self-binding harvester ; (3) the header ; and (4) 
combined harvester and thresher. The hand cradle is still 
manufactured and used for harvesting small areas. 

1 111. Buls. n (1890), p. 349, and 22 (1892), p. 119. Mich. Bui. 125 (1895), p. 34. 



io6 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 




The self-rake reaper. 



163. Self-Rake Reaper. — All harvesting machines have certain 
features in common. These are the serrated sickle vibrating 
through stationary guards, a platform to receive the cut grain, 
some provision to bring the grain regularly against the sickle 
and deposit it on the platform, a divider to separate the swath 

to be cut from the remain- 
der of the standing grain, 
and some means by which 
the operator can quickly 
raise or lower the cutter 
bar while the machine is 
in motion. 

In the self -rake reaper 
the platform has the form 
of a quarter of a circle, 
and upon it operate automatically rakes which serve the 
double purpose of bringing the grain onto the platform and 
removing it from the platform far enough to one side so that 
the reaper can again pass around the field without nuining over 
the cut grain. The size of the bundle is determined by regu- 
lating the number of rakes 
which remove the grain. 
Because of the necessity of 
binding the grain by hand, 
they are used only where 
small quantities are to be 
harvested. The reaper cuts 
a swath of five feet and is 
drawn by two horses. ^ An 
ordinary day's work is from 
six to eight acres. '^V W\^ 

The self-binding harvester. 

164. The Self -Binding 
Harvester. — By far the larger area of small grain is now 
harvested by this machine, generally called the "binder." 




HARVESTING WHEAT I07 

They are manufactured in a number of styles, but in their 
essential features they are nearly all practically identical. It 
differs from the reaper in having a reel to bring the grain 
against the cutter bar and deposit it on the platform. This 
reel is attachable at the will of the operator while the machine 
is in motion. The cut grain is conveyed on an endless canvas 
to an elevator consisting of two endless canvases which de- 
posit the grain on the opposite side of the drive wheel, where 
it is packed into a trim bundle and automatically bound with 
twine. The binding device operates as often as the pressure of 
the increasing bundle trips it. The size of the bundle is there- 
fore determined by regulating the pressure required to trip 
the binder. Binders are made which cut different widths, the 
standard width 
being six feet. 
Three horses are 
used with the six- 
foot cut, and an 
ordinary day's 
work is from ten _^ ^ _, 

The header. 

to twenty acres, 

depending upon many factors, the most important of which 

are the yield and the condition of the straw. 

165. The Header. — The header and the combined har\^ester 
can be used only where the climate is such as to permit har- 
vesting the wheat after it is fully ripe and thoroughly dry, and 
hence are in use only in the western half of the United States. 
Instead of cutting the wheat near the ground, they merely head 
it, leaving the bulk of the straw standing in the field. The 
header conveys the headed grain to the side of the machine 
and elevates it so that it is deposited in a wagon driven along- 
side to receive it. The grain is either immediately carried to 
a threshing machine or first put in stacks and subsequently 
threshed. 




[o8 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



The header cuts a swath twelve and twenty feet wide, and 
is usually pushed by four horses. An ordinary day's work is 
fifteen to thirty acres. 

i66. The Combined Harvester and Thresher. — This machine 
is a combined header and threshing machine. The standard 

machine of this type cuts 
a swath eighteen feet 
wide, the cutter bar being 
attached directly at the 
side and forward end of 
the thresher. The headed 
grain is conveyed to the 
thresher, which is made 
to operate by being 
pulled over the ground 
by twenty-eight horses or 
mules. The animals are 
hitched in three sets of six, then two sets of four. In front 
of these are two, and to this pair alone are lines attached. It 
requires four men to operate this machine: one to drive, one 
to tilt cutter bar, one to sew filled sacks and dump upon 




The combined harvester and thresher, propelled by 
traction engine, with an extension to platform and 
sickle bar, making it possible to cut a swath forty 
feet wide. 




Separator with grain feeder, wind stacker and grain weigher. 



ground from time to time as they accumulate in groups of six 
or eight, and one to have general charge of the machine. Five 
to seven hundred bushels of wheat may be harvested, threshed 
and sacked wkh one of these machines in a day. There are 



HARVESTING WHEAT IO9 

Still larger machines, cutting a swath twenty-five or more feet 
in width and operated by steam power, and doing a corre- 
spondingly larger amount of work. 

167. Threshing. — In some sections of the country the wheat 
is mostly threshed directly from the shock, while in other sections 
it is first stacked or stored in the barn and after the grain has 
had time to go through the sweat, it is threshed. There is little 
more danger of the threshed grain heating in the bin if threshed 
directly from the shock, but where care is taken to have the grain 
thoroughly dry, heating will not occur. Under such circum- 
stances, there is no material difference in the quality of the grain 
or of the resulting flour. Probably much of the larger part of the 
wheat harvested in the United States is threshed directly from 
the shock. Rainy weather may cause damage, which can be 
guarded against in some measure by storing in barn or by stack- 
ing, but ordinarily it is largely a matter of economy and con- 
venience. The sprouting of wheat not only greatly decreases the 
quality of the grain, but it has been shown that sprouting wheat 
for six days or until grains are beginning to burst their first leaf, 
may cause a loss of twelve per cent in weight.' A few farmers 
own their own threshing machines, and very rarely a machine is 
permanently located in the barn in accordance with the English 
custom. Ordinarily, however, the threshing is done by the itiner- 
ant steam threshing outfit which does the work for a stated price 
per bushel. Usually 500 to 1,000 bushels are threshed per day. 

168. Storing. — The principal things to be considered in the 
storing of wheat are the ease of handling, freedom from 
dampness, insects and vermin. Wheat is not injured by cold, 
and insects injurious to wheat do not thrive at cold temperatures, 
consequently the more exposed the granaiy the better. The 
larger the bulk of grain and less the exposure of the surface, the 
less will be the injur)' from insects. The surface of the rooms and 

1 Ark. Bui. 42 (1896), p. 72. 



tio 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



bins should be constructed so as to prevent lodgment of insects, 
as far as possible, by having smooth surfaces which are preferably 

oiled or painted. In order 
to prevent rats and mice, 
bins should never be built 
so that there are air spaces 
in which these vermin can 
find hiding places, nor 
should other objects, such 
as hay, in which they can 
find lodgment, be placed 
against the bins. Wheat 
bins made of single 
thickness of boards 
and fully exposed on 
all sides will never 
be seriously injured 
by rats or mice. Wheat 
should never be stored 
in bags where it can be 
avoided. Granaries that 
have been in use should 
be thoroughly cleaned out 
and treated to destroy 
insects if necessary (156) 
before putting in fresh 
supplies of grain. Grain 
already affected with in- 
sects should be put in 
quarantine bin and treated 
before being placed into 
the granary. Wherever the 
granary and rice weevil 
and the Angoumois grain 




A, diagram of an elevator: I, endless band and 
elevator buckets for raising grain; 2, grain belt 
for moving grain horizontally ; 3, zigzag for de- 
livering grain from belt to hopper ; 4, weighing 
bin. B, detail of endless band and elevator buck- 
ets. C, detail of grain belt. D, detail of zigzag. 
(After Cobb.) 



HARVESTING WHEAT 



III 




A country elevator. 



moth are likely to be serious pests, windows should be covered 
with screens, doors made tight, and every precaution taken to 
keep them from gaining entrance to the granary. 

Aside from the losses occasioned by insects and vermin, the 
loss of weight through storage is a negligible quantity. 

169. Elevators. — The eleva- 
tor is an American institution 
which has immensely facilitated 
the handling of wheat and other 
grains, due to the fact that 
" threshed grain can, in large 
measure, be handled like water." 
Wheat may be run directly from 
the threshing machine into tight wagon boxes holding fifty to 
100 bushels and hauled directly to the elevator, where it is 
automatically dumped and elevated by power machinery', so that 
a pound of grain need not be lifted by hand after it starts into 
the threshing machine. Or it may be temporarily stored in 
two-bushel bags and subsequently drawn to the elevator. 

The elevator company will receive, insure and store wheat 
for fifteen days at a fixed charge, and store indefinitely there- 
after for a fixed charge, depending upon 
the length of storage. It will also clean 
the wheat if desired. The owner receives a 
certificate of the amount of wheat stored, 
which he can sell whenever he desires to 
do so. 

Country elevators are usually built of 

wood and have a capacity of 20,000 to 

40,000 bushels ; while elevators at terminal 

points have been built which hold 3,000,- 

000 bushels and are now being made of steel, concrete, or 

tile, thus saving largely in insurance. On the Pacific Coast, 

the wheat is still handled in sacks as in other countries. 




Terminal elevator. 



VII. 

WHEAT. 

I, USES AND PREPARATION FOR USE. 

170. Uses. — The use of wheat as a human food is pre- 
historic, but by no means universal, although much more so 
than formerly. It is only since the application of machinery to 
wheat harvesting and the simultaneous development of new 
wheat areas, that the coarser grains have come to take a more 
secondary place in our dietary. The ancient Egyptians lived 
upon barley, sorghum seed, lupines and horse beans. Esau's 
mess of pottage was hulled lupines. Our New England fore- 
fathers ate " lye and Indian " (a mixture of rye and maize 
meal) and buckwheat principally. Wheat is almost exclusively 
used for the production of flour from which various forms of 
food are made, while its by-products serve as food for domestic 
animals. The value of wheat as human food does not lie so 
much in its superiority in sustaining life as it does in its greater 
palatability and the attractiveness and great variety of forms 
which can be made therefrom. 

171. Food for Domestic Animals. — All classes of domestic 
animals are fond of wheat, whether fed whole or ground, wet or 
dry. Feeding experiments clearly indicate that the food vakie 
of wheat is slightly, if any, greater than maize, pound for pound, 
when fed to domestic animals. When the price permits its use 
under these conditions, it is a healthful and desirable food, but 
the best results are obtained when it does not form more than 
half the grain ration. When fed whole, large quantities of the 
grains escape mastication, but grinding has been found to 
increase slightly its food value. The Minnesota Station found 



USE OF WHEAT 



that when fed to pigs, ground wheat was about ten per cent more 
digestible than whole wheat. ' The Ohio State University 
reports one experiment in which 399 pounds of both ground 
and moistened wheat produced 100 pounds of increase in pork 
as compared with 453 pounds of whole dry wheat. The South 
Dakota Station found 49 1 pounds of whole dry wheat and 48 1 
pounds of ground dry wheat produced 100 pounds of increase. 

172. Source, Amount and Quality of Flour. — In the process 
of milling the aim is to reduce the endosperm to a very fine 
powder with as little admixture of other portions of the grain 
as possible. The following table gives the analysis of cleaned 
wheat and of three grades of flour produced therefrom by the 
roller process of milling. ^ 





Wheat 


(i) Patent 
flour 


(2) Bakers' 
flour 


(3) Low 
grade flour 


Water .... 
Ash .... 
Protein (NX6.25) . 
Crude fiber . 
Nitrogen-free extract 
Fat .... 
Phosphoric acid . 




9.07 > 
1-79 
14-35 
1.68 

70-37 

2.74 

.82 


11.48 

•39 
12.95 

.18 

73-55 

1-45 

.18 


12.18 

.62 

14.88 

■33 

69.99 

2.00 

•31 


12.01 
1-99 

17-95 
•93 

63.26 
3-86 
1. 16 



(i) Patent flour : A clear white grain. 

(2) Bakers' flour: Slightly yellow in color. The grain lacks distinctness, 
making the flour lumpy. 

(3) Low grade flour: The grain is soft and the flour dark and lumpy. 
cl«s of embryo and bran are prominent. 



Parti- 



The low grade flour was somewhat higher in protein, con- 
siderably higher in crude fiber and much higher in phosphoric 
acid than the patent flour. The patent flour, which presumably 
formed the bulk of the product, was lower in protein and phos- 
phoric acid than the grain. All grades of flour were lower in 

1 Minn. Bui. 36, p. 147. 

* U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. of Chem. Bui. 4 (1884), pp. 38-39. 



114 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

crude fiber than the grain. The highest grades consist of 
approximately pure endosperm, but since in producing these 
highest grades it is necessary to reject practically all of those 
portions of the endosperm that remain attached to the embryo 
and to the aleurone layer, it is customary in the roller process 
of milling to make several grades of flour with varying admix- 
tures of portions foreign to the endosperm, in order to increase 
the total percentage of the flour. The superiority of the modern 
methods of milling lies largely in the exactness with which the 
various products of the wheat grain can be sorted. The almost 
complete elimination of crude fiber in the patent flour is probably 
one of the most important factors in affecting its commercial and 
breadmaking value. Another rather important factor is the fine- 
ness of the particles of flour. While flour seems like an impal- 
pable powder, there is in reality considerable variation in the size 
of the particles, as may be readily determined by passing flour 
through sieves of proper dimensions. Microscopic examination 
will show that some particles are spherical, while others are angu- 
lar. Flour from hard wheat is generally larger and more angular 
than that from soft wheat. The character of the milling has, of 
course, the greatest effect upon the granulation of the flour. 
The most desirable condition for breadmaking probably exists 
when the flour is of medium granulation, with a mixture of 
medium and smaller sized particles, as the capacity of the flour 
to absorb water is thus increased.-^ 

The quantity and quality of the flour therefore depend upon 
the character of the wheat grain both physically and chemically, 
upon its condition at the time of milling, upon the mill and upon 
the skill of the miller. Usually seventy to seventy-two per cent 
of the grain is made into flour, although variations ranging 
from sixty-five to eighty per cent have been reported for differ- 
ent varieties of wheat milled by the roller process.^ Where 

1 The Northwestern Miller, Christmas, 1900, p. 20. 

2 U. S Dept. of Agr., Div. of Chem. Bui. 4 (1884), p. 60. 



USE OF WHEAT 115 

millers do custom milling for an eighth toll, it is customary to 
give thirty-six to thirty-seven poimds of flour and twelve to 
fourteen pounds of mill feed for each bushel. While wide varia- 
tions may occur on account of differences in the process of 
milling and mixing, ordinarily about one-half the by-product is 
bran, and the other half shorts and middlings. 

The larger the endosperm and the smaller the embryo and 
aleurone layer, the larger the percentage of flour obtained. The 
evidence seems conclusive that the embr}'o and aleurone layer are 
considerably higher in ash, and especially in phosphoric acid, 
nitrogenous compounds and fat, than the endosperm, and that 
the composition of wheat may vary on account of the proportion 
of these to endosperm without any variation in the composition 
of the endosperm. There is, therefore, no necessary relation 
between the composition of the wheat grain and the composi- 
tion of the flour therefrom. In general, however, grains with 
high percentage of nitrogenous compounds produce flour with 
high percentage of these compounds and with high gluten con- 
tent. (69) 

173. Grades of Flour. — The expert miller determines the 
quality of the flour largely by feel and color. Great expert- 
ness is acquired in judging of the granulations by the feel, which 
depends both on the size of the flour particles and their form. 
The quality of the flour also depends upon the per cent and 
quality of the gluten. (70) The quality of the gluten may be 
determined by the " baker's sponge test " by which the volume 
of dough per unit of gluten as well as the time required to obtain 
the maximum rise is determined. (204) 

Many trade names are gi\-en to different grades of flour by 
manufacturers. Dealers have sought to obtain uniformity of 
grading by a system of inspection similar to that employed for 
whole wheat and other grains. As a guide for the inspector, a 
series of standards is prepared and renewed from time to time 
as required. The classification differs in different cities. In 



ii6 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



St. Louis the grades are Patent, Extra Fancy, Fancy, Choice 
and Family, in which the first named indicates the whitest 
and highest quality, and the last the darkest and lowest grade.^ 

174. Graham and Entire Wheat Flour. — Graham flour is 
unbolted wheat meal, while whole wheat or entire wheat flour 
is wheat meal from which the coarsest of the bran has been 
removed. It contains, therefore, the embr)^-o and perhaps some 
portion of the aleurone layer. 

The following table gives the composition of a hard Scotch 
fife wheat, and of graham flour, entire wheat flour and cf 
straight grade patent white flour made therefrom : ^ 





Wheat 


Graham 
flour 


Entire 
wheat 
flour 


Straight 
grade 
patent 
flour 


Water 


8.50 


8.61 


10.81 


10.54 


Ash 


1.80 


1.72 


1.02 


.50 


Protein (N x 5.7) .... 


12.65 


12.65 


12.26 


11.99 


Carbohydrates .... 


74.69 


74.58 


1■i■(^^ 


75-36 


Fat 


2.36 


2.44 


2.24 


i.6i 



When made into bread it was found that the white flour made 
the lightest bread (the largest loaf) and that the graham flour 
made the smallest loaf. Expressing the digestibility of the bread 
when fed to men in terms of available energy, it was found that 
90.1 per cent of the white bread, 85.5 per cent of the entire 
wheat bread and 80.7 per cent of the graham bread was digested. 
The greater digestibility of the white flour was, in part, attrib- 
uted to its greater fineness. The result of this and other 
experiments indicates that while bread from graham and entire 
wheat flour is a perfectly healthful and often desirable article of 
diet, bread from white flour produces the largest amount of 

1 Ark. Bui. 42, p. 66. 

2 Minn. Bui. 74, p. 157. 



USE OF WHEAT II7 

energy per unit of flour and is probably to be preferred as the 
main diet for the average person. The digestibility of bread 
from different grades of patent flour was quite similar. 

175. Amount of Bread from Flour. — The value of flour de- 
pends upon the amount and quality of bread produced. (172) 
The amount of bread does not, however, depend upon the flour 
alone but also upon the conditions of baking, chief of which are 
the percentage of water used in the dough, the size of the loaves, 
the temperature of the ovens and the length of time of baking. 
Richardson reports that by differences in these factors the 
amount of bread may be varied as much as fifteen pounds per 
100 pounds of flour. For different flours handled as nearly 
alike as maybe, he obtained variations ranging from 129 pounds 
to 140 pounds of cold bread for each 100 pounds of flour, and 
he concludes that the yield of bread is dependent on physical 
conditions of breadmaking and not to a large extent upon the 
chemical composition of the wheat (flour).^ It was a fact, how- 
ever, that the flour with the least per cent of nitrogen produced 
the smallest per cent of bread and the flour with the largest per 
cent of nitrogen produced the largest per cent of bread. As the 
percentage of flour in wheat is about seventy-two, each pound 
of wheat produces about a pound of bread. 

176. Milling Machinery. — There are three types of machinery 
for producing flour which may be represented as follows : 

1. The mortar and pestle, which is the primitive method, in 
which the force employed is principally that of impact. 

2. Burr stones, which was the universal method of milling 
wheat in the United States until 1878, in which the wheat is cut 
and crushed. 

3. The roller process, which has made large mills possible, 
in which the wheat, and subsequently its several parts, pass 
through a series of graduated hardened steel rollers and in which 

1 U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bu. of Chem. Bui. 4, pp. 60-62. 



Il8 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

the material is mashed, rather than torn as in the burr stones. 
There were in the United States in 1900 about two and one-half 
as many pairs of rolls as runs of stone. 

The separation of the different portions of the grain is accom- 
plished partly by gravity and partly by bolting cloth of different 
sized meshes. The endosperm breaks up into spherical or 
cubical particles, while the other portions are more or less flat- 
tened, forming comparatively larger dimensions and having a 
less specific gravity. 

177. The Purifier. — Formerly, and by what is now known as 
the old i^rocess of milling, wheat was merely ground as finely as 
possible and then bolted. By the introduction of the middlings 
purifier two steps have been added to the process, viz., puri- 
fying and regrinding. 
1a/ ^-^ The details of this 

\.\/ J " ) "new" process are 

elaborate and compli- 
cated but the principles 
involved are quite sim- 
ple. The thoroughly 

The middlings purifier, which has greatly influenced cleaned wheat, whethcf 

the wheat industry. j-qHs or burrs are used, 

is first ground, or rather 
granulated coarsely, resulting in three products : flour of a low 
grade, middlings and bran. The middlings are now put through 
the purifier in order to extract dirt, bran and fuzz. They are 
then ground by a more or less gradual process, depending 
upon the construction of the mill, and finally bolted. It is from 
these middlings thus purified that the highest grade (so-called 
patent) of flour is made. 

The introduction of the purifier in 1870 revolutionized the 
process of milling, and made the use of the hard spring wheats 
of the Northwest of the highest value, while formerly they were 
of the least value for the production of high grade flour. 




USK OF WHEAT I19 

178. The By-products of Wheat consist of the outer coats, 
the aleurone layer, the embryo, and such portions of the endo- 
sperm as cannot, by the common process of milling, be removed 
from the aleurone layer. Tiicre are a number of grades of 
these by-products, depending principally upon the relative pro- 
portion of outer coats to endosperm. The common grades are 
bran, shorts and middlings, while a low grade of flour known as 
"red dog" or "dark feeding flour" is sometimes sold for feeding 
purposes. Bran and shorts are essentially the same, except 
that in the process of milling the outer coats in the latter are 
more thoroughly pulverized ; while the middlings contain a 
larger portion of the endosperm, and are therefore more starchy 
and dense than bran or even shorts. In the bran the outer 
coats are in large flakes, with portions of the aleurone layer 
and endosperm attached, thus making a light, bulky product. 
While the embr)'0 itself constitutes a much smaller proportion, in 
the process of milling about eight per cent of the grain is 
removed as embryo. (64) Care is taken to remove these em- 
bryos, because their introduction into the flour injures its keeping 
qualities, and its nitrogenous compounds are not suitable for 
breadmaking purposes.^ On account of their high nitrogen, 
phosphorus and fat content, they are a valuable addition to the 
by-products. They are sometimes found in the bran and some- 
times in the middlings. As in the process of milling they are 
separated from the rest of the products, it is optional with the 
miller where they are put. The yellowish flattened embryos are 
readily recognized in the mill products. 

179. Composition of By-products. — The analyses that have 
been compiled show very great variations in every constituent 
in different samples of bran, shorts and middlings.^ Taking 
them as a class, the ash has been found to vary from 1.4 to 7.8 
per cent; the protein from 10. i to 20.0 per cent; the crude 

1 The Chemistry of Plant and Animal Life, p. 307. 
« U. S. Dept. of Agr., Office of Expt. Sta. Rul. 1 1. 



I20 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



fiber from 1.3 to 15.5 per cent; nitrogen-free extract from 45.5 
to 70.9 per cent; and fat from 1.5 to 7.0 per cent. 
The following table shows the average composition : 



Number of analyses . 

Water 

Ash . 

Protein (N x 6.25) . 

Crude fiber 

Nitrogen-free extract 

Fat . 



Bran 


Shorts 


88 


12 


11.9 


ii.S 


5.8 


4.6 


154 


14.9 


9.0 


74 


53-9 


56.8 


4.0 


4-5 



Middlings 



32 
12. 1 

3-3 
15.6 

4.6 
60.4 

4.0 



High protein content may be accompanied with high content 
of crude fiber and low content of starch due to exhaustive mill- 
ing, and equal protein content may result in two samples of bran 
unequally milled because of differences in the protein content 
of the wheat used. 

The total phosphorus in wheat bran has been found by the 
New York (Geneva) Station to be 1.22 per cent, as compared 
with 0.7 per cent in malt sprouts and 0.4 in oats. It is also 
more soluble, eighty-seven per cent being soluble in water, as 
compared with eighty-one per cent in malt sprouts and fifty per 
cent in oats. Practically all of the soluble phosphorus of wheat 
bran is of an organic nature.* 

180. Food Value of By-products. — Within the memory of 
many persons now living, the bran spout of grist mills emptied 
its contents into the river. The by-products of wheat are now 
among the most highly prized stock foods for all classes of 
domestic animals. While its value is undoubted, the digest- 
ibility of bran is not much greater than that of hay of good 
quality. The esteem in which it is held sometimes causes it to 
be an expensive food compared with others that are available. 

1 N. Y. (Geneva) Bui. 250 (1904), p. 169. 



PRODUCTION OF WHEAT 12 1 

Middlings usually sell for about five per cent more and shorts 
for about five per cent less than bran. So far as the ruminants 
are concerned, these values are not the result of experimental 
evidence. For ruminants and horses, the mixing of bran and 
middlings is probably advisable. Shorts are to be avoided on 
account of the practice of millers in adding the sweepings and 
other inferior products.^ The Maine Station has shown that for 
swine, middlings are much more desirable than bran, undoubt- 
edly due to the less percentage of crude fiber in the former.- 

II. PRODUCTION AND MARKETING. 

i8i. Wheat Crop of the World. — The production of wheat in 
the world has varied during the years 1898 to 1902 inclusive 
from 2,610 to 3,124 million bushels per annum, the average 
yearly production being 2,869 million bushels. 

The following table gives the average annual production by 
half decades by continents in million bushels : 



Europe .... 

North America 

Asia .... 

South America 

Australasia 

Africa .... 

Total .... 

This table shows that, compared with the preceding five 
years, Australasia has made the largest percentage increase. 
North America has made the largest actual increase in the 
production of wheat. The production of wheat in Africa has 
remained stationary, while in Asia it has fallen off seven per 

1 W. A. Henry: Feeds and Feeding, p. 130. 

2 Me. Rpt. 1889, p. 82. 



I893-I897 

inclusive 


1S98-1902 

inclusive 


i>433 


1,580 


520 


717 


409 


382 


74 


96 


34 


48 


45 


45 


2,.siS 


2,868 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



cent. The increased jDroduction in North America has been 
greater than all the rest of the world combined. 

Notwithstanding the great development of wheat production in 
other sections of the world, Europe still produces more than half 
the wheat of the world, and notwithstanding the fact that much 
of Europe has been cultivated for ages, the production of wheat 
continues to increase in a substantial manner. Russia, France 
and Austria-Hungary are the largest wheat producing countries 
of Europe. Second in importance to these are Germany, Spain 
and Italy. The United States and India are the only other 
large wheat producing countries. Canada and the Argentine 
Republic are important on account of having a relatively large 
surplus for export and on account of the possible future develop- 
ment. The Canadian Northwest is distinguished for its large 
yield per acre combined with high quality of the grain. 

182. "Wheat Crop of the United States. — The United States 
raises the most wheat of any nation on the globe. The largest 
yield ever produced in a single year was 748 million bushels in 
1 90 1. The following table presents the essential statistics for 
the last three decades, based upon the estimates of the United 
States Department of Agriculture : 



I 





1870-1879 • 


1880-1889 


I 890- I 899 


Area, acres 


25,000,000 


37,000,000 


38,000,000 


Yield, bushels .... 


312,000,000 


450,000,000 


503,000,000 


Value, dollars .... 


327,000,000 


372,000,000 


3-50,000,000 


Price per bushel, dollars i 


1.05 


0.83 


0.65 


Yield per acre, bushels . 


12.4 


12. 1 


13.2 


Value per acre, dollars . 


13.00 


10.00 


8.58 



These figures show a steady decrease in the value of the crop 
per acre through a decrease in price per bushel. The yield per 
acre has increased somewhat, due in part, no doubt, to the open- 
ing of new sections to the production of wheat which give high 
yields per acre. The census for 1900 shows that practically all 

1 Farm price December ist. 



PRODUCTION OF WHEAT 



123 



of the territoiy reporting over twenty-one bushels per acre was 
west of Denver. The greater part of that in which the yield is 
from fourteen to twenty-one bushels per acre is found north of 
the Potomac and east of the Missouri. 



OOOp 


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1^70 




if,to 


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600 
300 


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zv.: 




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H 


T il 


........... !0 


• 00 


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1 


mm 


iiiiniff-iiitffni 


1 1 III 



fSWiili'A 



The relative increase in population and in production of wheat in the United States 
according to reports of the census. 

In 1899, thirty-five farms out of every hundred in the United 
States produced wheat. A little more than two million farms 
are reported by the census to have produced 659 million bushels 
of wheat from an area of fifty -three million acres. 

183. Progress of Wheat Production. — Owing to the possession 
of large areas of fresh 
lands, easily brought 
into cultivation, to the 
reduced cost of produc- 
tion and handling 
through the introduc- 
tion of labor-saving 
machinery and the ex- 
tension of railway con- 
struction, the progress 
of wheat production 
has been rapid. In fifty years the production of wheat has in- 
creased six and one-half times. 




Map showing the production of wheat in the 
United States In 1900. 



124 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



This diagram indicates that during the past decade the pro- 
duction of wheat has increased faster than population, while 
average annual yields by decades based upon the estimates 
of the United States Department of Agriculture indicate that 
the production of wheat has not increased as rapidly as popula- 
tion. (182) 

184. Center of Wheat Production. — ^While wheat is grown in 
every State in the Union, the greater part is raised in the 
Mississippi Valley. Ten States produced sixty-five per cent, 
twenty States produced ninety per cent of all the wheat grown 
in the United States in 1900. 

The center of wheat production in 1900 was about seventy 
miles west of Des Moines, Iowa (N. Lat. 41° 39' 19" and W. 
Long. 94° 59' 23"). In fifty years this center has moved north 
about ninety-nine miles and west about 680 miles. 

185. Winter Wheat and Spring Wheat. — In 1902 about three- 
fifths of the wheat of the United States was sown in the fall. 
The yield for winter wheat was 14.4 and for spring wheat 14.7 
bushels per acre. 

Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Idaho, Washington and 
Oregon produce both winter and spring wheat. Minnesota, 
North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Utah, Montana, New 
Mexico, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, Maine and Vermont raise 

spring wheat, while the 
rest of the States raise 
winter wheat. 

186. Production of 
Flour. — There were about 
490 million bushels of 
wheat made into flour 
in the United States 
.. ^ . ^ , . ,. in iQoo. A little more 

Map snowing ten States each grinding more than ^ 

twenty million bushels of wheat in 1900. than tWO-thirds of it WaS 




PRODUCTION OF WHEAT 



125 



ground in ten States, Minnesota alone grinding 103 million 
bushels. 

187. Consumption of Wheat per Capita. — The census ^ esti- 
mates the domestic consumption of flour to be equal to 5.31 
bushels of wheat per capita in 1900, as compared with 5.29 
bushels in 1890. As it takes 4.77 bushels of wheat to make a 
barrel of flour, this is i.i barrels of flour per inhabitant. About 
1.4 bushels per acre, or about eleven per cent of the normal crop, 
is estimated to be required for seed. This makes the total 
requirement aside from its use as food for domestic animals 
and such secondary uses as breakfast foods, 6.29 bushels per 
inhabitant, or about 475 million bushels for the United States 
in 1900. 




A wheat field producing forty-eight bushels of wheat per acre on one of the farms of 
Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y. 

According to the Bureau of Statistics of the United States 
Treasury Department" the total amount of wheat used for all 
purposes for the five years ending 1902 was 390 million 
bushels, as compared with 300 million during the preceding five 
years. 

For the five years ending 1902, the production of wheat in 
Europe has been 4.1 bushels per capita. The net import of 
wheat has been something less than one bushel per capita. 

1 Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Vol. VI. Agr. Part II, p. 32. 
8 U. S. Treas. Dept., Bu. of Stat. Statistical Abst., 1902, p. 345. 



126 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



This does not, however, represent Europe's total bread require 
ment, as large quantities of rye brea:d are used by the inhabitants 
of several European countries. 

i88. Yield per Acre. — There is a marked variation in yield 
per acre of wheat in different countries. It will be seen that the 
two countries which produce the most wheat have the smallest 
yield per acre. 

Average yield of wheat in bushels per acre, 1894- 1900 : 
United Kingdom . . . . . . 31.8 



Germany 

France 

Hungary 

Austria 

United States 

Russia 



26.0 
19.4 
17. 1 
16.4 

13-4 
9.0 



Climate apparently has a greater influence in bringing about 
these differences in yield than either soil or cultural methods, 
although the latter are important factors. A moderately cool 
climate with a liberal supply of moisture prolongs the period 
during which the grain develops, thus favoring the development 
of the endosperm and thereby increasing the volume weight and 
the yield per acre. (74, 112) 

189. Export of Wheat and Flour. — The world's export of 
wheat and flour for the half decade 1 898-1902 ranged from 347 
million (1900) to 444 million (1902) with an average annual 
exportation of 411 million bushels. During the same period the 
exportation of wheat and flour from the United States was 
equivalent to 215 million bushels of wheat per annum, as com- 
pared with 155 million bushels the preceding five years, which 
was thirty-six and thirty-four per cent respectively of the total 
production. The following table is an estimate of the world's 
average annual export of wheat and flour for the five years 1898- 



1902 : 
1 U. 



S. Dept. of Agr. Yearbook, 1902, p. 770. 



I 



PRODUCTION OF WHEAT 



127 





1898-1902 

Bushels 


North America 


229,990,400 


Russia ..... 


82,972,800 


Balkan Peninsula 


30,548,800 


Argentina and Uruguay . 


41,112,000 


India 


15.93s. 200 


Australia and New Zealand 


10,199,200 


Total 


410,758,400 



The following table gives the exportation of wheat and flour 
from the United States by customs districts for the year ending 
June 30, 1902 : ^ 



Wheat 



I — Atlantic ports .... 

II — Gulf ports 

Ill — Mexican border ports . 

IV — Pacific ports .... 

V — Northern border and Lake ports 



Bushels 



71,509^ 
29,458 
8S5 
42,581 
10,341 



Price per 
bu. 



0735 
0.79S 
0.628 
0.736 



Total 
value 



^56,1122 

21,670 

706 

26,763 

7,621 



Flour 



1 — Atlantic ports .... 

II — Gulf ports 

Ill — Mexican border ports . 

IV — Pacific ports .... 

V — Northern border and Lake ports 



Barrels 


Price per 
barrel 


13,0862 


H85 


947 


3-75 


44 


4.01 


3.0S9 


2.97 


621 


3-83 



Total 
value 

S5o,435"^ 

3.553 

178 

9,112 

2,382 



2 The figures are stated in thousands. 

The average annual export price of wheat from United States, 
1898 to 1902, inclusive, was 78 cents per bushel ; for flour $3.90 
per barrel. 

More than ninety-eight per cent of the wheat exported from 
the United States in 1902 was shipped from twenty ports. For 
the five years, 1898-1902, seven of these ports sending out 

1 Commerce and Navigation of United States. Treas. An. Rpt. 1902, Vol. I. 
pp. 496-497. 



128 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

more than ten million bushels annually, held the following rank . 
New York, New Orleans, Baltimore, Galveston, Boston, San 
Francisco, Willamette (Ore.). New York was the only port 
sending out as much as twenty millions annually, and her aver- 
ag.e annual shipment for the five years given was 29.3 million 
bushels. Other important ports were, respectively, Puget Sound 
(Wash.), Philadelphia, Portland and Falmouth (Me.), Superior 
(Wis.), Chicago and Duluth.^ 

190. Imports of Wheat. — All the countries which consume 
more wheat than they produce are situated in Europe, with the 
exception of the Oriental countries, which have recently begun 
to take supplies of wheat from North America. The larger 
part of the export of wheat and flour from the United States 
is taken by Great Britain and Ireland, the Netherlands, Ger- 
many, France and Belgium. Great Britain, as the principal 
importer of wheat, is the arbiter of its price throughout the 
world. The demand for wheat by Great Britain has increased 
rapidly during the past fifty years, through decrease in wheat 
production, through increase in population and in per capita 
consumption. 

191. Commercial Grades. — Every important wheat market 
maintains a system of inspection of wheat and other grains. 
Wheat is bought and sold by grades and all wheat coming into 
a market is inspected and the grade determined by the inspector 
and when leaving this market may be inspected again. A spec- 
ified charge is made for this service. The weight per bushel is 
detenaiined in every sample, but other considerations help to 
fbc the grade, as plumpness, soundness, freedom from foreign 
seeds or mixture with a different type of wheat. Aside from the 
weight per bushel, fixing the grade is largely a matter of judg- 
ment and expertness upon the part of the inspector. The 
information concerning these grades cannot satisfactorily be 

1 U. S. Treas. Dept., Bu. Stat. Statistical Abst., 1902, p. 305. 



GRADES OF WHEAT I29 

conveyed to another except by actual practice. The grades vary 
in different markets to suit the supply and demand at each par- 
ticular market. The classes and grades recognized by the Board 
of Railroad and Warehouse commissioners for the inspection 
of wheat at Chicago are as follows : 

White winter wheat Nos. i, 2, 3 and 4. 
Long red winter wheat Nos. i and 2. 
Red winter wheat Nos. t, 2, 3 and 4. 
Hard winter wheat Nos. i, 2, 3 and 4. 
Colorado wheat Nos. i, 2 and 3. 
Northern spring wlieat Nos. i and 2. 
Spring wheat Nos. i, 2, 3 and 4. 
White spring wheat Nos. i, 2, 3 and 4, 

Red winter wheat containing a mixture not exceeding five per 
cent of white winter wheat is classed as red winter wheat. Red 
winter wheat containing more than five per cent of white wheat 
is graded according to the quality thereof and classed as white 
winter wheat. Hard winter wheat corresponds to red winter 
wheat except that it is of the Turkish variety common through- 
out the Missouri River Valley. A mixture of Turkish wheat 
with other varieties of red winter wheat is graded as hard 
winter wheat. Northern spring wheat must contain at least fifty 
per cent of hard varieties of spring wheat. A mixture of more 
than five per cent of white spring wheat in red spring wheat will 
cause it to be graded white spring wheat. Black sea and flinty 
fife wheat are in no case graded higher than No. 2 and rice 
wheat no higher than No. 4. Frosted wheat is not graded higher 
than No. 4 except that the grade of No. 3 may contain as much 
frosted wheat as is customary to all wheat damaged in another 
way. Only a small portion of the wheat of any sort grades 
No. I. Most of the wheat dealt in grades No. 2 or No. 3. The 
following are the rules for grading red winter wheat : 

" No. I Red Winter Wheat shall be pure Red Winter Wheat of both light and 
dark colors of the shorter berried varieties, sound, plump and well cleaned. 

" No. 2 Red Winter Wheat shall be Red Winter \Vheat of both light and dark 
colors, sound and reasonably clean. 



130 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

" No. 3 Red Winter Wheat shall include Red Winter Wheat not clean and plump 
enough for No. 2, but weighing not less than fifty-four pounds to the measured 
bushel. 

" No. 4 Red Winter Wheat shall include Red Winter Wheat, damp, musty or 
from any cause so badly damaged as to render it unfit for No. 3." 

III. HISTORY. 

192. Antiquity. — The cultivation of wheat is much older 
than the histoiy of man. Very ancient monuments, much older 
than the Hebrew Scriptures, show its cultivation already estab- 
lished. The Egyptians and the Greeks attributed its origin to 
mythical personages. The earliest Lake Dwellers of Western 
Switzerland cultivated a small-grained variety of wheat as early 
as the Stone Age. The Chinese grew wheat 2700 B. C, and 
considered it a direct gift from Heaven. Wheat is one of the 
species used in their annual ceremony of sowing five kinds of 
seeds. Chinese scholars believe it to be a native of their 
country. 

193. Original Habitat. — The existence of different names for 
wheat in the most ancient languages confirms the belief in its 
great antiquity. It has been asserted that wheat has been 
found growing wild in Western Asia, but the evidence is not 
conclusive. The Euphrates Valley is believed by De Candolle 
to be the principal habitation of the species in prehistoric times. 
So far as known, wheat was not grown in America before its 
discovery by Columbus. 

194. Reasons for Culture. — Its ease of cultivation ; its adap- 
tation to a climate favorable to the beginning of civilization ; its 
quick and abundant return ; its ease of preparation for use ; its 
abundant supply of nutritious substance ; possibly its rapid im- 
provement under cultivation and the fact of its being paniferous, 
or possessing that special quality which adapts it above any other 
grain to the making of light bread, were probably some of the 
reasons which caused primitive man to begin and continue its 



I 



PRACTICUMS FOR WHEAT 



131 



cultivation. In addition, its wide adaptation to different soils 
and climate has macle it one of the principal foods of mankind. 



Practicums. 

195. Study of the Simkf, of Whf.at. — Request each student to report the 
following, after examining a head of wheat: 

1. Number of spikelets in tlie spike of wheat. 

2. Number of flowers in each spikelet. 

3. Number of grains in the whole spike. 

4. Determine the number and arrange weight of grains occupying first, second, 

third and fourth place from rachis. 

5. Number of empty glumes in a spikelet. 

6. Make a sketch of the beak, shoulder and auricle of the empty glume. 

7. How does the flowering glume differ from the palea ? 

8. How is the spikelet attaclied to the rachis ? 
g. Draw the rachis. 

The spikes of wheat should be laid between pieces of moistened blotting paper 
for several hours before handing the students, in order to toughen the parts. 

196. Method of Cross-Fertilization. — In order to effect cross-fertilization, 
the anthers must be removed from all the flowers on the 

spike, before any of them have shed their pollen. This 
can best be done when or before the anthers are slightly 
tinged with yellow. The labor may be reduced by re- 
moving all but one or two dozen flowers. If spikelets 
on the middle portion of the spike are left and only the 
two lower flowers of the spikelet, more uniformity in 
the maturation of the flowers will be obtained, as well 
as more uniformity in other particulars. After care- 
fully removing the unbroken anthers, the emasculated 
spike may be protected by wrapping about it a piece of 
tissue paper and tying it above and below. One to two 
days later the flowers will open, which may be told by 
adjacent uncovered spikes. Pollen may now be brought 
from the variety chosen for the male parent and depos- 
ited upon the stigmas of the emasculated flowers. The 
cross-pollinated spike is again covered, and requires no 
further attention until ripe. 

197. Types of Wheat. — To familiarize the stu- 
dent with species and subspecies of wheat, give each a couple of spikes and stems 
of each of the eight species and subspecies, and have him identify by the use of the 
following outline adapted from Hackel : t 

Triticitvi L. Genus. Spikes with rarely aborted spikelets, rachis not articulate 
in cultivated species ; lowest one to four spikelets smaller than the others, awnless, 

ITrue Grasses, pp. 180-183. 




In the upper illustration op- 
erator is removing spikelets 
which are not to becrossed. 
In the lower the flowers are 
being opened to remove the 
anthers (after Hays). 



132 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

usually sterile. Fertile spikelets inflated or ventricose, two- to five-flowered, fruits 
one to three. Lowest spikelet closely imbricated ; empty glumes broad, one- to 
many-awned, sometimes a toothed apex ; flowering glumes rounded on the back 
often navicular, many-nerved, ending in one to several awns; fruit slightly com- 
pressed laterally, deeply sulcate, hairy at the apex, free. Embryo with epiblast and 
three rootlets. Annual. Two poorly defined sections of which one {^ASgilops L.) 
is not cultivated. 

Section II. Sitopyros, Empty glumes sharply keeled. Species three. 

A. Terminal spikelet usually aborted; mature palea falling into the 

parts; lateral teeth of empty glume acute. i. Tr. monococcum. 

B. Terminal spikelets developed ; palea entire ; lateral teeth of empty 

glume obtuse. 

a. Empty glumes chartaceous, shorter than flowering glume ; palea 

as long as flowering glume. 2. Tr. sativum. 

b. Empty glumes sometimes longer than flowering glume, charta- 

ceous, lanceolate ; palea of lowest flower half as long as its 
glume. 3. Tr. polonicum. 

1. TV. monococcum L. Spikes compact, articulate, joints separating, 

spikelets one-awned, usually only lower flowers maturing fruit. 

2. Tr. sativjan Lam. Three races. 

I. Rachis articulate at maturity ; grain entirely enclosed by glumes, 

not falling out when threshed. 

1*. Spikes loose, almost four-sided when seen from above; 
empty glumes broadly truncate in front, with very short, 
obtuse middle tooth ; obtusely keeled, a. Tr. sat. spelta. 
2*. Spikes dense, laterally compressed; empty glumes taper- 
ing; middle teeth acute; sharply keeled. 

b. Tr. sat. dicoccuni. 

II. Rachis not articulate at maturity ; fruiting glumes somewhat 

open ; grain falls out easily. c. Tr. sat. tenax 

a. Tr. sat. spelta Hackel. Awned or awnless, hairy or smooth- 

spiked ; white, gray, blue, reddish. 

b. Tr. sat. dkoccjtm Hackel. Always awned. Spikes broader on 

two-ranked side, narrower on imbricated side. 

c. Tr. sat. tenax Hackel. Four poorly characterized subraces. 

I.* Empty glumes distinctly keeled in the upper half, rounded 01 
only slightly keeled below. 

* Spikes long, more or less loose, somewhat dorsally compressed. 

1 ' Tr. sat. vitlgare. 
** Spikes short, dense, distinctly four-sided. 

I " Tr. sat. compactum. 
2* Empty glumes sharply keeled at the base. 

* Fruit short, thick, not compressed, broadly truncate above. 

I / / / Tr. sat. tiirgidutn. 



PRACTICUMS FOR WHEAT 



'JO 



* * Fruit oblong, narrow, laterally compressed, somewhat acuminate. 

\ I I I / yy j^j^ durum. 

3» TV. Polonicum L. A very striking species, with large, compressed, 
mostly blue-green spikes. Spikelets appearing as if cut off trans- 
versely, because the third and fourth flowers scarcely reach to the 
point of the two lower ones ; flowering glumes compressed, navicu- 
lar, many-nerved, awned; fruit 8-12 mm. long. 

METHOD OF DESCRIBING WHEAT VARIETIES. 

19S. Half Grown Plant in the Field. Each student should bs given a 
printed or typewritten sheet as indicated below and requested to describe two or 
more varieties of wheat growing in the field by underscoring the adjective which 
most nearly applies to the condition found. 

1. Color: light green; medium green; dark green; light yellowish green; 
medium yellowish green ; dark yellowish green ; light gray green ; medium gray 
green ; dark gray green. 

2. Leaf blade : average length of ten blades , 

3. Leaf blade: average width of maximum dimensions of ten blades . 

4. Leaf blade : erect ; ascending ; drooping. 

5. Leaf blade : smooth ; rough ; downy. 

6. Leaf blade : veins prominent ; veins not prominent. 

7. Leaf blade : end tapering ; end with .ides parallel. 

8. Leaf sheath : green ; green shading to purple. 

9. Ligule: 2.5 mm. long; 2 mm. long;, io7 mm. long. 

10. Ligule : white ; purple. 

11. Auricles: w^hite ; green; white with purple tips ; purple. 

12. Auricles : hairy ; partly hairy ; smooth. 

Note : The above practicum and those following are intended to teach a method 
of describing wheat varieties as first proposed by Cobb and published by Scofield. 
The student should be referred to The Description of Wheat Varieties, by Carl S. 
Scofield. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Bu. of PI. Ind. Bui. 47 

199. Mature Plant in the Field. Each student should be given a 
printed or typewritten sheet as indicated below and requested to describe two or 
more varieties of wheat growing in the field by underscoring the adjective which 
most nearly applies to the condition found. 

1. Height: average of ten culms to tip of apical gloom, not counting awTi, 

if any . 

2. Vigor of plant: strong; medium; weak. 

3. Diameter below spike : average of ten culms . 

4. Depth of furrows below spike : furrowed; medium; smooth. 

5. Upper part of culm: solid; semi-solid; hollow. 

6. Wall of culm: thick; medium; thin. 

7. Color of culm : light yellow ; yellow ; purple ; bronze. 

8. Foliage : scanty ; medium abundant. 



134 I'HE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



Rust: leaves, per cent ; culms, per cent . 

Smut: loose, per cent ; stinking, per cent . 

Spike: erect; leaning; nodding. 

12. Spike: beardless; partly bearded; bearded. 

13. Shattering: badly; medium; none. 

200. Mature Dried Plant in Laboratory. Give each student a printed 
or typewritten sheet as indicated below and request a description of two or more 
varieties from dried samples by underscoring the adjective which most nearly 
applies to the condition found. If opportunity to study varieties in the field is 
lacking, some of the items given in (199) may be included here. 

1. Length of spike: average of five spikes from base of lower spikelet to tip of 

apical flowering glume, not counting awn, if any . 

2. Compactness of spike : very open ; open ; medium ; compact ; crowded. 

3. Shape, side view : tapering towards apex ; tapering both ways ; uniform ; 

clubbed. 

4. Shape, end view: square ; flattened with spikelet; flattened across spikelet. 

5. Sterile spikelets: No. . 

6. Awns : length . 

7. Awns: slender; medium; stout. 

8. Awns: parallel; spreading; widely spreading. 

9. Awns : deciduous ; partly deciduous ; persistent. 

10. Awns : light yellow ; yellow ; brown ; black. 

11. Spikelet: spreading widely ; spreading; narrow. 

12. Spikelet : number of grains . 

13. Basal hairs: long; medium; short; wanting: white; brown. 

14. Outer glume: light yellow; yellow; bronze; black. 

15. Outer glume: hairy; partly hairy; smooth. 1 

16. Width of outer glume : broad; medium; narrow. t 

17. Length of outer glume: long (as flowering glume); medium ; short. 

18. Attachment of outer glume to rachilla : firm ; medium ; weak, 
ig. Beak of outer glume : long; medium; short. 

20. Shoulder of outer glume : broad ; medium ; narrow : square ; sloping ; round. 

201. The Grain. Give each student a printed or typewritten sheet as indi- 
cated below and request a description of two or more varieties by underscoring the 
adjective which most nearly applies to the condition found. 

1 . Density : very hard ; hard ; medium ; soft ; very soft. 

2. Appearance of cross-section : very homy ; horny ; dull ; starch. 

3. Weight : of 100 average seeds in duplicate (a) (b) . 

4. Ratio of length to width : divide length of twenty-five grains by width of 

twenty-five grains with crease down . 

5. Shape : straight ; curved ; pear-shaped. 

6. Plumpness : plump ; medium ; shrivelled. 

7. Cheeks: flat; plump; angular. 

8. At tip: pointed; blunt. 

9. At base: pointed; blunt. 



i 



PRACTICUMS FOR WHEAT 



135 



10. Crease: deep; medium; shallow: wide; medium; narrow. 

11. Rrush : large area ; small area: long hairs ; short hairs. 

12. Color of grain: light yellow; yellow; clear amber; dull amber; clear red; 
dull red. 

202. Classification of Varieties of Common Wheat. Take preferably 
fifty varieties of either spring or winter wheat in sheaf and in grain. A desirable 
plan is to have one thousand grains of each variety in glass vials one inch in dia- 
meter and six inches high, taking care to have the vials of clear glass and uniform 
diameter. The difference in the size of grains can be noted at a glance and all 
other characters as easily observed as in larger samples. 




An agronomy laboratory, showing materials ready for the study of varieties of wheat. 
Require the student to classify them into eight groups as follows: 
( Glumes wliite 



Bearded 



Beardless 



' C;lumes bronze 
/ (ilumes white 
( Glumes bronze 



( Grains red 
I Grains white 

{Grains red 
Grains white 
( Grains red 
( Grains white 
( Grains red 
( Grains white 



The student should note what differences, if any, exist between varieties of the 
same group as for example in smoothness or hairiness of glumes, and length of 
straw; and in what cases the varieties are probably synonymous. (89) A written 
report concerning the best ten varieties as shown by Stations testing varieties in 



i3( 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



question may be required. Definite references to proper bulletins should be fur- 
nished each student. 

203. Relation of Color, Hardness, Size, Specific Gravity and Con- 
tent OF gluten. — 

1. Take five varieties of wheat varying as widely as may be in different quali- 
ties mentioned, as for example, Fultz, Gold Coin, Rudy, Turkey, Kubanka. 

2. Note color and hardness. 

3. Find weight of 500 grains. 

4. Fill a 50-gram picnometer with benzene and weigh on balance sensitive to 
1 mgm. Add twenty grams of wheat and weigh. Add weight of wheat to weight 
of picnometer and benzene and subtract last weight, which will give weight of vol- 
ume of benzene equal to volume of grains of wheat. Divide this difference by 
the specific gravity of benzene, which will give the weight of a volume of water 
equal to the volume of grains of wlieat. To determine the specific gravity of the 
wheat, divide twenty grams of wheat by the weight of an equal volume of water. 

5. To find the relative size of grains, divide the weight of five hundred grains 

by their spscific gravity. 

6. To determine content of gluten, take thirty grams 
of ground wheat, work with water in a round bottomed 
glass vessel with spatula, and wash off starch after gluten 
has gotten into a sticky mass, and continue to vra,sh until 
there is no appearance of starch grains being carried off. 
To be sure that all the starch is freed from gluten, test 
washings with potassium iodide ; blue color shows the 
presence of starch. Work mass of gluten in fingers until 
all water that will run off has been expelled. Weight 
will give amount of moist gluten. Place in drying oven 
at no" C until constant weight is obtained. Weight 
will give amount of dry gluten. At same time find 
weight of dry matter in ten grams of ground wheat. 
Calculate per cent of moist and dry gluten from data 
obtained. 

If there is not time or facilities to carry out No. 6, 
the instructor may determine the content of gluten in 
advance and allow the student to compare Nos. 2 to 
5 with the results thus obtained. 

204. Quality of Flour. — Furnish each student 
with a sample of high grade and low grade flour and 
have him determine the following : 

I. Character of granulations: Note under a high 
power microscope (172) whether flour particles are round 




Snyder's apparatus for de- 
termining the granulatiori 
of flour. I , Erienmeyer 
flask; 2, suction connec- 
tion; 3, rubber cork ; 4, 
adapter ; 5, rubber (tube) 
packing, making air-tight 
joint ; 6, section of brass 
crucible overlapping sec- 
tion 7; between these two 
parts bolting cloth is 



placed and removed as de- 
sired — any size cloth can or angular. 

be inserted; 8, wire clamp ^ gj^e of particles: By means of apparatus de- 

holding apparatus in place, ^jgg^ ^y Snyder, determine the amount of flour in 
twenty-five grams that will pass through bolting cloth Nos. 9 to 20. 



PRACTICUMS FOR WHEAT I37 

3. The color test : Place samples of flour on plate of glass and determine color 
by means of a series of colored glass slabs. 1 

4. The baker's sponge test : Place in a wide pint porcelain bowl one hundred 
grams of flour. Dissolve five grams of sugar and five grams of compressed yeast in 
sixty -five grams of water and stir with steel spatula into flour. Continue to add 
water and knead until proper consistency is obtained. Note quantity of water re- 
quired to give equal consistency' in both samples. Place dough in cylinders about 
four inches in diameter graduated into c. c.'s. Set tube in water at 90° F. and 
determine time required to rise to full height and maximum volume attained. If 
time permits, allow second rise to occur and note time and maximum volume. The 
first rise takes about an hour and a half to two hours and the second rise from an 
hour to an hour and a half. If the per cent of gluten has been determined (203), 
calculate volume to each gram of gluten.2 

205. Collateral reading. — 

The Basis for the Improvement of American Wheats. By Mark Alfred Carle- 
ton. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. of Veg. Phys. and Path. Bui. 24, pp. 63-83. 

The Structure of the ^\^leat Grain. By Charles E. Bessey. Neb. Bui. 32, pp. 
100- 1 14. 

William C. Edgar: The Story of a Grain of ^\^leat, pp. 111-131. New York: 
D. Appleton & Co. 

Plant Breeding. Willet M. Hays. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. of Veg. Phys. and 
Path. Bull. 29, pp. 44-54. 

Grain Elevators. By N. A. Cobb, Dept. of Agr., Sidney, New South Wales, 
Misc. Pub. 452. 

1 These can be purchased of Eimer & Amend, New York. 
* For further details see Minn. Bui. 62. (1899), pp. 346-352. 



VIII. 

MAIZE. 

I. STRUCTURE. 

206. Name. — Columbus found Zca mays L. cultivated on the 
Island of Hayti, where it was called mahiz ; hence the name 
maize. Mahiz, or marisi, is said to be an Arawak Indian word 
of South American origin.^ The word corn is used m Europe 
as a generic term for all cereals, and originally the word meant 
any hard edible seed, grain or kernel. In England an ear of 
corn means a head or spike of wheat. Naturally, therefore, the 
colonists, finding maize cultivated abundantly by the Indians, 
applied the term Indian corn to distinguish it from other corn. 
In the United States corn is everywhere understood to mean 
maize and a Pennyslvania court has ruled that the word corn is 
a sufficient description of Indian corn. In Latin America 
" maiz " is the term generally used. 

207. Fodder, Stover and Silage. — Fodder, when applied to 
maize, is the plant, including the ears, which has been cut and 
field cured without regard to the manner or thickness of plant- 
ing or stage of maturity. Stover is the residue after the ears 
have been removed from the fodder. When the whole plant or 
the residue- after removing the ears is placed without curing in 
the silo, the resulting material is called si/age. 

208. Relationships. — The tribe (Jllaydeae) to which maize 
{Zea mays L.) belongs differs quite widely from the tribe 
{Hordeae) to which wheat, rye and barley belong. In the same 
tribe with maize belong teosinte {EiicJilaena niexicana Schrad.), 
a sub-tropical plant sometimes cultivated in the Southern States 

1 Harshberger, J. W. : Maize ; A Botanical and Economic Study, p. 88. 



I 



STRUCTURE OF MAI/p: 



139 



for fodder purposes, and gania grass {Jfripsacnm dactyloides 
L.) which was a rather conspicuous feature of the native herbage 
of the prairie regions in the central and southern 
portions of the United States. 

The wild prototype of Zea has not with cer- 
tainty been identified. So far as known there is 
only the one species which includes all the culti- 
vated types and varieties of maize.^ 

209. Roots. — The form and habit of growth 
of the roots of maize are similar to those of 
wheat, although modified somewhat in position, 
due doubtless to the plant being in hills or drills 
instead of being broadcast. The general tendency 
is for the roots to grow somewhat horizontally for 
one or two feet and then turn down more or less 
abruptly. The position of the roots is modified 
by the depth of fertile soil and by depth to which 
the seed bed has been stirred.^ The indications 
are that the distribution of roots depends more 
upon a proper supply of oxygen and water than 
upon temperature. The following table shows a Brace roots on Mex- 

. - . . • • 1 r .1 1 \c3.r\ maize grown 

number of roots at six mches from the plant at ^t ^^^^ station 
different depths in plants one to six weeks old as farm (after King). 
examined in a black prairie soil at the Illinois Station : 



Depth below the surface 


1888 


1889 


1890 


Less than two inches .... 
Two to four inches ..... 
Over four inches 


I 
22 

I 



17 


6 
114 
59 


Total 


24 


48 


179 



1 For a summary of the evidence concerning the wild prototype of maize, see 
Maize: A Botanical and Economic Study. By John W. Harshberger. Contribu- 
tions from the Botanical Laboratory of the University of Pennsylvania, Vol. i, No. 2. 

a N. Y. State (Geneva) Rpt. 1887, p. 95 ; 1888, p. \^\. 



140 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

Observations made in Alabama, New York, North Dakota, 
Iowa and elsewhere, have shown that the roots grow horizontally 
for some distance from the plant, within four inches of the sur- 
face. These lateral roots are very abundant, especially in the 
early part of the season. Later in the season, however, roots 
are sent downward in greater number, the lateral roots mean- 
while continuing to grow and rebranch, so that in the course of 
eight to ten weeks the soil between the hills, under ordinary 
culture, is completely occupied by a dense ramification of roots. 
One hundred branches have been counted on a piece of maize 
root fourteen inches long. Many instances have been reported 
of roots growing four feet deep, and in some cases roots have 
been broken off at a depth of fifty inches, showing that they 
must have grown somewhat deeper. Hays reports maize roots 
eight feet in length, although not in depth. In most soils, how- 
ever, the amount of root surface below the first two feet is 
comparatively small. This suggests that the relatively few 
unbranched roots which descend to greater depth do so to 
supply the plant with water. The requirements of the plant for 
water are very great, both because of the large amount of dry 
matter per acre produced and because the season of active 
growth is during the hottest portion of the year. 

In the early stages of the plant the root gro^vth is rapid. A 
maize plant one-half inch high has been observed with a root 
eight inches long; one three inches high with a root thirteen 
inches long, and two five inches high with roots eleven to twenty- 
four inches long. Unlike the wheat plant, which throws out a 
whorl of three temporaiy or seminal roots, the radicle of the 
maize plant enlarges and remains prominent, while two or three 
other roots of lesser size are thrown out. Compared with the 
lower portion, the stem is very much enlarged at the point where 
the permanent or coronal roots begin. In a plant thirty days 
old and twenty-one inches high the stem between the temporary 
and permanent roots was one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter, 



STRUCTURE OF MAIZE I4I 

while just above the permanent roots it was three-eighths by five- 
eighths inch. The majority of the permanent roots begin at 
about one inch below the surface of the soil, regardless of the 
depth of planting. Brace roots, however, usually start from the 
node, one or two inches above ground. The aerial portion is 
much enlarged, but soon after entering the ground becomes 
reduced to the size of the other roots. A maize plant forty-three 
days old and five feet high was found to possess thirty-five roots, 
eleven of which were brace roots. None of the brace roots had 
entered the ground more than one and one-half inches. Their 
total length varied from one and one-half to five inches. An 
examination of the mature plants shows the brace roots to have 
grown to considerable depths, thus performing the function of 
true roots. Variety differences in ability to support the culm 
and prevent its being blown down have been obser\^ed, but this 
character has not as yet been made of practical value.^ 

210. Culms. — The maize plant is the most variable in size 
of the cereals. The height is reported to vary from eighteen 
inches in the Tom Thumb pop to thirty feet or more in the 
West Indies. Individual stalks twenty-two and one-fourth feet 
high have been reported from Tennessee. From four to twelve 
feet is a common variation. The height varies not only with the 
variety but the same variety varies largely with soil and climatic 
conditions. Along the Mississippi River, south of the fortieth 
parallel, it is not unusual to see maize growing on which the ears 
are so high that a man of ordinary height can barely reach them. 
In the northern latitudes of the United States, as in New Eng- 
land, much maize is so short as to make it necessary to stoop to 
reach the ears. The circumference of an average maize culm, 
between the first and second nodes, in a dent or flint variety, will 
be from three to four and one-half inches. Unlike most of the 
plants of the grass family, the culm of maize is not hollow, the 
interior being filled with a soft pith, which does not add mate- 

1 Miss. Bui. 2:^, p. 75. 



142 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

rially to its strength. The internodes are alternately furrowed 
on the side next the leaf blade and on the side where the branch 
or ear may occur. In fact, furrows appear to occur for the 
accommodation of the branch or ear buds. 

The maize plant does not depend alone upon the node for 
erecting bent culms as in the other cereals and grasses gener- 
ally, but the walls of the lower internode have a similar power. 

(378) 

The per cent of crude fiber is considerably higher in the out- 
side of the culm than in the pith, thus increasing the per cent 
of other constituents in the latter. Aside from this, the per cent 
of ash is higher in the pith, being especially high in potassium 
and calcium, while the culm wall is notably high in silica. 

At the New York Station the rate of growth ranged from 
three to eighteen and one-half inches per week. Under spe- 
cially favorable conditions a growth of five inches was recorded 
in one day.^ At the Illinois Station an increase in one week 
equal to 1,300 pounds of dry matter per acre was observed. 

211. Suckers. — Under conditions of ordinary culture, one 
seed produces but one culm. When, however, the planting is 
not sufficiently thick for the existing conditions, the plant may 
produce one or more branches from its lower nodes, which 
branches will throw out separate roots. The branches or culms 
are known as suckers, and usually do not produce ears. They 
are not desirable because they take plant food and water from 
the soil without giving any return in grain. Some varieties of 
maize produce a number of branches from nodes higher up 
the culm. Ordinarily, however, the maize plant is unbranched 
except where its one or more ears are produced, the ear being 
produced at the end of a much modified branch. (2 1 4) 

212. Leaves. — With dent maize grown in Iowa, the number 
of leaves on a culm varied from twelve to eighteen.^ Since the 

1 C. S. Plumb: Indian Corn Culture, p. 14. 

2 Iowa Bui. 2 (1888). 



structurp: of maize 143 

lower leaves die off before maturity, activity at any one time is 
confined to about twelve. The width of the blade varied from 
three and three-quarters to five and one-eighth inches. At the 
Missouri Station the total external leaf surface on twelve living 
leaves of a single maize plant was found to be twenty-four 
square feet.^ As 12,000 plants per acre are not an unusual 
stand, the leaf surface may be more than a quarter of a million 
square feet on an acre, or about six times the area on which the 
plant stands. 

At the Michigan Station the leaves constituted somewhat 
more than a third of the dry matter when the grains were in 
milk, and a little more than a fifth when the plant was ripe. 
During this period the percentage of dry matter of culm re- 
mained about the same, the decrease in percentage of dry 
matter in leaves having been offset by a corresponding increase 
in the ears.^ 

The outer edges of the leaf blade grow faster than the por- 
tion next the midrib, giving a wavy effect to the blade and 
giving it an elasticity which aids it to withstand wind. In the 
upper portion of the blade, on either side of the midrib, are to be 
found large wedge-shaped (bulbiform) cells which on filling with 
water cause the young leaf to unfold and which during drouth 
cause the leaf to roll, thus reducing the evaporation from the 
plant. The under surface of the leaf is further protected, also? 
against transpiration by a strong cuticle. The ligule tightly 
clasps the stalk, preventing the entrance of water and accom- 
panying dirt between sheath and culm : it also prevents the 
sheath from rotating upon the culm as in most of the grasses. 

213. Relationship of Grain to Stover. — Of two .stalks bearing 
the same quantity of grain, the smaller is to be preferred, where 
grain is the principal object sought. The larger the stalks the 
more food material necessary to produce them, the more ground 

1 Mo. Bui. 5 (1S89). 

2 Mich. Bui. ii;4 (1898), p. 272. 



144 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



is shaded, and, consequently, a less number of stalks can be 

raised per acre. 

In some localities the ear may be too high on the stalk to be 

husked easily. While there are wide variations due to variety, 

soil, climate and thickness of planting, the weight of field-cured 

stover has been esti- 
mated at about one 
and one-third pounds 
for each pound of 
grain produced. In 
actual dry matter the 
yield per acre may be 
estimated as about 
equal under ordinary 
field culture. It has 
been estimated that 
for every pound of 
dry matter produced 
in the" roots and stub- 
ble when cut close to 
the ground, six pounds 
are produced in the 
plant above ground.^ 

214. The Inflores- 
cence. — The cultivated 
maize plant bears its 
carpels and stamens 
in separate flowers. 
The staminate flowers 
borne in a panicle of 
spikelets at the top of 
the culm are called 




Dent maize, variety Sibley's Pride of tiie North. Com- 
pare with flint variety upon opposite page. Note that 
this variety has no sucl<ers and that the husks have 
completely lost their leaf blades. Plant has been in 
tassel about two weeks. It is not as mature as the flint 
variety, hence the ear is relatively small. (One twenty- 
fourth natural size.) 



collectively the tassel. 

1 Wis. Rpt. 1892, p. 119. 



The carpellate flowers are borne in the 

In this connection, see also Mo. Bui. 9. 



STRUCTURE OF MAIZE 



145 



axils of the leaves, forming upon maturity what is known as the 
ear. The fruit of the maize plant being borne in the axils of 
the leaves rather than being terminal is a feature which distin- 
guishes maize from all the other cereals. The difference is more 
apparent than real. Certain varieties of maize, especially pod 
maize, sometimes bear carpels upon the tassel of the main culm, 
and where branches oc- . . , . 

cur bear both stamens 
and carpels at their end. 
It is assumed that wild 
maize w^as a branched 
plant containing perfect 
flowers (both carpels and 

stamens) on the terminal 

tassel and, also, at the 

end of the branches. 

Since the plant is wind 

fertilized and the pollen 

tends to fall, the carpel- 
late flowers in the ter- 
minal tassel would be 

less perfectly poUenized 

than those on the 

branches below. The 

pollen on the branches 

would tend to fall to the 

ground, thus being of 

little value. The plants 

which had the greatest 

development of carpels 

on the branches and of 

stamens in the terminal 

tassel would tend to survive. As the end of a branch became 

laden with a collection of grains (ear) the short branch would 




Flint maize, variety Smut Nose. Compare with dent 
variety upon opposite page. Note two good ears 
with rudimentary one below upon main culm, and 
also the leaf blades upon the husks of the ear. The 
other three culms are suckers, all having grown from 
one seed. Plant has been in tassel about three 
weeks. (One-twenty-fourth natural size.) 



146 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

best hold the ear from drooping. Thus the culm of the branch 
(now called the shank) has become a succession of nodes with 
short internodes. Each node still bears the sheath of the leaf, 
the blade being much reduced in size or aborted. This collec- 
tion of leaf sheaths is called the husk. The branch has been 
telescoped. (211.) 

215. The Tassel. — The tassel is a spreading panicle gen- 
erally a foot or more in length in field varieties, with branches 
usually six to ten inches long. The spikelets extending from 
base to tip of each branch (rachis) are arranged in clusters of 
two to four, one usually pediceled, the others sessile, or all 
sessile, the clusters often overlapping. The empty or outer 
glumes, about equal, three-eighths to one-half inch long, are 
stouter and harder than the flowering glume and palea. The 
latter are about equal and shorter than the outer glumes. They 
are hyaline and much thinner. Each flower bears three stamens. 
The anthers are large, nearly as long as the flowering glume. 
They are attached to the filament on one side near the lower 
end. 

Lazenby estimates that 45,000 pollen grains are produced for 
each ovule in dent maize.^ According to another estimate, an 
average maize plant has seventy-two hundred stamens, contain- 
ing about eighteen million pollen grains. Assuming two thou- 
sand ovules to a plant, there would be nine thousand pollen 
grains to an ovule.^ It is held that the staminate flowers usually 
mature before the carpellate, but they may mature at the same 
time or later. 

216. The Silk. — The style, commonly known as the silk, 
arises at the summit of the carpel. In certain varieties, as pop 
maize, the scar may be plainly seen on the top of the ripened 
grain. Since the end of all silks, for the silk to be effective, 
must protrude beyond the surrounding husk, the silk may be a 

1 Proc. Soc. Prom. Agr. Sc. (1898). 

2 Sargent : Corn Plants, p. 44. 



A 



STRUCTURE OF MAIZE 



U7 




foot or more in length. Near the base of the silk on the side 
opposite the embryo there is an opening through the wall of 
the ovular)' to which has been given 
the name stylar canal. It is not 
known positively whether the pollen 
tube passes down through the sub- 
stance of the silk, entering the ovulary 
by way of the base of the silk, or 
whether the pollen tube enters the 
ovulary through the stylar canal. 
Guignard and others believe the 
latter to be the case.^ ^ Whether the 
pollen tube before entering the stylar 
canal grows down the outside of the 
silk or whether the pollen grain by 
some mechanical means reaches the 
opening to the stylar canal is likewise 
unknown. After pollination, the silk 
dries up but persists. When, however, pollination is prevented, 
the silk grows to unusual size and remains green two or three 
times as long as normal. 

217. The Ear. — The ear may vary from one-half ah inch to 
sixteen inches long and may have from four to forty-eight rows 
in individual ears. A variation of from four to twelve inches in 
length and from eight to twenty-four rows is not uncommon and 
may obtain as a variety characteristic. 

The ear may be looked upon as being formed by the growing 
together of four or more spikes, each joint of the rachis bearing 
two spikelets. Each spikelet is two-flowered, the lower one 
being abortive (214); thus the distinctly paired rows often 
obser\^ed represent a pair of spikelets. The growing together 

1 Guignard, L. : La double fecondation dans le mais. Jour. d. Dot. 15: 1-14 
No. 2, 1901. 

2 Poindexter, C. C: The Development of the Spikelet and Grain of Com. 
Ohio Naturalist, Vol. IV, No. i, Nov. 1903. 



A spikelet of maize before fertiliza- 
tion ; s, style or silk ; c, the stylar 
canal through which, perhaps, the 
pollen tube enters the ovulary; 
I, inner glunne ; 0, outer glunne. 
Enlarged twelve times (after 
Poindexter) . 




148 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

of the rachi forms the cob. It is interesting to observe that 
the development of the cob seems to be in some measure de- 
pendent upon the develop- 
ment of the grains. As the 
tip of the cob develops last, 
ears are likely to be more 
tapering where soil or sea- 
sonal conditions have been 
unfavorable. A tapering ear 
may, therefore, in some in- 
Thirty rows. Eight rows. gt^nces, indicate a lack of 

adaptation to the locality in which it is grown.^ 

In the cultivated varieties the glumes and paleae are reduced 
to small membranous parts arovmd the base of the grains. In 
the pod maize, however, the glumes are very large, completely 
enclosing the grains. 

The several rachi which make up the cob usually grow nearly 
straight from butt to tip ; hence the two-ranked spikelets result 
in grains being usually arranged in regular order. These pairs 
of ovularies are fertilized with such certainty that under normal 
conditions an odd number of rows never results. Even where 
the number of rows is less at the tip end than at the butt, the 
number of rows remains even, — the reduction in number is made 
by the omission of a piece of the rachis. The case of an ear 
having twenty-one rows has been reported,^ but if authentic, is 
certainly a very rare instance. 

218. The Position of the Ear. — The position of the ear on 
the culm (stalk) varies more widely than does the ratio of grain 
to stover. In some varieties the ears may be too high or too 
low to be easily husked. When too high, the stalks are more 
easily blown down. Four feet above ground is a desirable 
height for ears of medium sized varieties. The shank by which 

1 Torrey Bui. 21, No. 12 (1894), p. 514. 

2 Trans. Mass. Soc. Prom. Agr. 1S58, p. 114 



J 



STRUCTURE OF MAIZE 1 49 

each ear is attached to the main cuhn varies in length. The 
shorter length, holding the ear in position more firmly, is 
generally accompanied with a more compact husk, thus better 
protecting the ear from weather or the attacks of birds and 
insects. In sections where damage is liable to occur from 
excessive rainfall, the tip of the ear should hang downward. In 
the Southern States, if the tip of the ear points upward, rain 
will enter between the husk and ear and being held there a few 
warm days will cause the grain at the butt to sprout or rot. 

219. Characteristics of Ear. — The physical characters of an 
ear of maize may, in some measure, indicate the yield, maturity, 
keeping quality and vitality, as ^yell as its purity or trueness to 
type. By an examination of the split grain some indication of 
the composition may be obtained. (258) As in all plants and 
animals, however, the hereditary or reproductive power of ears 
of similar outward appearance may differ widely. (43) This 
is especially true of maize, since being wind poUenized, the male 
parent is unknown. The physical development of the ear is 
greatly influenced also by its environment. 

220. Terms Descriptive of Ear. — Grains are usually of the same charac- 
ter throughout the ear, or intikemelled, but in case of crosses between two types may 
have two forms or be bikenielleti. A bikernelled variety from Chile has been figured 
by Bonafous. 

The ear may be cylindrical ox cyliiidraceous, cylindrical for a portion of its length; 
tapering, distinctly tapering or slowly tapering, representing different degrees of 
decrease in diameter from butt to tip. In some varieties the ears are long and 
slender; in others short and thick ; or tlie ear may be flat. 

The grains may be even at hdt with plane line of cob; or may be slialltnu rounded, 
tnoderately rounded ox dee/ly rounded zi the butt. 

The ear may taper toward the butt through a flattening of the grains as if 
pressed down from above, depressed at butt, or tlirough a decrease in the diameter of 
tlie cob, compressed at butt ; or through a shortening of the length of grains, 
depressed-rounded at butt ; or through both a shortening of the grain and a decrease 
in the cob, depressed-compressed at butt. Or the ear may be enlarged at butt by a more 
or less openness between rows; or expanded at butt through increase in number of 
rows. When space between pairs of rows extends to cob, it is open at butt. In some 
cases of eight or less rowed varieties the rows throughout the ear are in distinctly 
defined pairs, or distichous. The rows may be rectilinear, spiral ox irregular. 

The tip characters are quite variable witliin varieties, but a single terminal grain 



150 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

distinctly projecting is a character of decided permanence in the group of cap flints 
extensively grown in Connecticut and Rhode Island. 

The furrows, or sulci, between rows may be absent, apparent, narrow, distinct, or 
very distinct. 

Grains may be firm, loose or mosaic-like, when through pressure their edges be- 
come faceted. The grains may be at right angles to cob, uprif^ht ; leaning forward, 
sloping^ or may slopa forward with apex slightly overlapping, imbricnted. 

The ear stalk may be nearly or quite the diameter of the cob, large, or about half 
the diameter of the cob, meditan, or one-third the diameter or less, small. (243) 

221. Two-Eared Varieties. — Under ordinary conditions of 
culture, and particularly with dent varieties, only one ear is pro- 
duced on each stalk. In some types, as in pop and sweet 
varieties, the tendency to produce several ears is quite marked. 
The tendency is more marked in flint than in dent varieties in 
ordinary field culture. Bailey raised thirty-four ears from one 
seed of Zca canina^ twenty-five being on the main stalk. 
Sturtevant has raised twenty-three ears from one grain of flint 
maize, and reports as claimed from twelve to nineteen ears per 
stalk in pop maize ; ten or more in flint maize and six to four- 
teen in dent maize. 

The thickness of planting, soil and season influence the num- 
ber of ears per plant. By varying the number of grains per hill 
from one to five in the case of Waushakum flint maize, Sturte- 
vant varied the number of ears from 4.6 to 1.2 per plant. 

"Among the many varieties which have been tested at the station those which 
produce usually one ear to the stalk have given smaller yields than those which have 
produced a greater number of ears. It is quite possible, however, to increase the 
number of the ears at the expense of the total yield of grain. Three years ago a 
correspondent sent us a stalk bearing seven ears, and an accompanying letter offered 
a supply of the seed for twelve dollars a bushel. A workman was sent to one of the 
station fields with orders to bring the first five stalks he could find, each of which 
had two ears. Both lots were dried thoroughly before shelling, and in every case 
the grain from the stalks bearing two ears outweighed that from the seven-eared 
stalk. We have found no variety which produces uniformly one, two, or any other 
number of ears, but have found the ears to vary from 86 to 537 on one hundred 
stalks, counted as they stood in the rows. The best yields have come from those 
varieties which produce from 175 to 200 ears to one hundred stalks, and we have 
endeavored to find or to produce a variety which should have uniformly two ears on 

1 A variety of pop maize. 



STRUCTURE OF MAIZE 



151 



each stalk, as the nearer we have been able to approacli sucli a variety, tlie greater 
has been the yield of grain per acre." 1 

No two-eared dent variety has ever been produced which has 
become extensively grown or widely popular. It has not been 
shown in what way it is easier for a stalk of maize to elaborate 
the material for two ears than it would be to produce the same 
grain in one ear. When harvested by hand, varieties bearing 
but one ear on a stalk are to be preferred, unless the two or 
more eared varieties yield an appreciably larger quantity of 
grain. On the other hand, when fed to cattle without removing 
from stalk, two smaller ears might be preferred. For silage, the 
total yield of grain would be the only consideration. 

222. Barren Stalks. — A varying percentage of the stalks of 
the field are barren — do not bear any ears. The percentage of 
barren stalks on a given soil varies with the thickness of plant- 
ing and the season. Barrenness does not seem to be a variety 
characteristic. It seems to be largely the result of environ- 
ment. If it were an hereditary characteristic the fact that the 
stalks are barren would tend to eliminate them. 

223. The Grain. — The maize grain has the same general 
structure as the wheat grain. (60) While quite variable, it is 
characterized by its large size as compared with the seed of 
any other species of the grass family. The w^eight of 100 grains 
may vary from three grams in Miniature pop to 100 grams in 
Cuzco soft.^ It is also greatly different in shape from the grain 
of the other cereals, the furrow on the side opposite the embryo 
being entirely wanting. In most varieties, the grain is flattened 
and more or less triangular or oval in shape with its lateral dia- 
meter greater than the diameter parallel with the axis of the cob, 
while some varieties have spheroidal and others conical grains. 

Viewed from its broader surface, the grain may be broad above and taper by 
straight Unes to a very narrow base, cuneate iveJge-shafied ; or may be broad above 

1 Miss. Bui. 33 (1895), pp. 75-76. 

2 E. L. Sturtevant: Varieties of Corn. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Office of Expt. Sta. 
Bui. 57, p. 8. 



152 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



and taper by curved lines to a narrow base, rounded ctineate ; or may be broad 
above, less broad below, connected by straight lines, truncate-cnneate \ or sides of 
grain may be parallel in the upper portion and thence taper to a more or less broad 
base, shoe-peg form ; or may be nearly or quite as broad at base as at summit, 
rectangular; or the comer maybe rounded both above and helovi, rounded corners. 
The summit of the grain may be rounded or flat ; may end in a long narrow tip, 
rostrate; or a short abrupt point, mucronate. On the other hand the summit of the 
grain may be depressed, dented. The indentation may be round or cup-shaped, 
dimple dented; or longer than broad, Jotig dimple denied: or the sides maybe pinched 
and parallel, crease dented ; or the two sides may be pinched together closely and 
project upward and forward, pinched detited ; or with the last condition there may 
be a more or less ragged projection from the summit on the side next the embryo, 
ligulate dented. 

As a variety characteristic, depth is much more constant than 
width of grain, the former being a quite constant character. 

224. Shape of Grain Upon Maturity. — Sturtevant states that 
each of the five types of maize furnishes three well-defined sub- 
types, with parallel relationship throughout. Thus, subtype A, 
the grain broader than deep ; subtype B, the grain as broad as 
deep ; subtype C, the grain much deeper than broad. 

" All my ooUections concur towards the belief that climatic relations are more 
evident in these subspecies (subtypes) than in the species (types) themselves. 
With the possible exception of the dent corns and the starchy-sweet, for which as 
yet but one locality is known, the climatic range and adaptability seem about the 
same, but in the subspecies (subtypes) there is diversity, A being for climates of 
short season, C for long seasons, while Bin general is intermediate; although a 
climate suitable for C can grow A and B."2 

In a study of 168 varieties, he classifies types and subtypes 
as follows : 



Type 


Subtype 
A 


Subtype 
B 


Subtype 
C 


Totals 


Pop maize 




4 


5 


10 


28 


Flint maize 


. 


27 


9 


8 


44 


Dent maize 





S 


2 


Z^ 


48 


Soft maize 


. 


7 


S 


2 


14 


Sweet maize 




14 


12 


S 


34 



Bui. Torrey Bot. Club, Vol. XXI (1894), No. S pp. 320-323. 



IX. 



MAIZE. 



I. STRUCTURE (CONCLUDED). 

225. The Embryo. — The scutellum and vegetative portion 
with its miniature leaves and roots can readily be seen with 
a low power microscope. (61) The embryo situated on the side 
toward the tip of the ear, while variable in size, is relatively 
large, variations of from 7.7 to 15.7 per cent having been re- 
ported.^ In an average ear, not far from one-eighth of the grain 
is embryo. (60) The embryo is characterized by high percent- 
age of ash, protein and fat. The following per cents in the 
water-free substance of the embryo have been reported : ^ 





Ash 


Protein 


Fat 


Voorhees 

Balland 

Hopkins 


lO.O 

7-9 
9.9 


19.5 

iS-3 
19.S 


26.7 

39-9 
34-8 



In dent maize the embryo contains about twenty per cent of 
the protein, seventy-five per cent of the ash and eighty to eighty- 
four per cent of fat of the whole grain.' 

226. The Endosperm. — A section of the endosperm varies 
from snowy white to translucent in appearance. The difference 
between the types or subspecies of maize is in part based upon 
the relative amounts and arrangements of the white and trans- 
lucent or corneous endosperm. When cross-sections of the 

1 111. Bui. 55, pp. 234-235. 

2 111. Bui. 53, p. 140; 87, p. 83. 
S IlL BuL 87, pp. 90-91. 



154 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 




A, an enlarged longitudinal section of maize. The internal structure is diagrammatic inas- 
much as about I 00 times the number of cells in outline (ten times in diameter) occur in 
the gram. I and 2 show the pericarp; the testa is not shown in A, but is shown in B I 0. 
The nucellus is wanting. 3, aleurone layer; 4, cells of the endosperm; 5, scutellum ; 6, 
plumule; 7, primary root; 8, its root-sheath; 9, a row of cells similar in appearance to 
aleurone layer but smaller. B, section more highly magnified; shows pericarp composed 
of two layers; I , epicarp ; 2, endocarp. (The author.) 



STRUCTURE OF MAIZE 1 55 

maize grain are examined under the microscope, no material 
difference in structure is noticeable. This has led to the 
suggestion, not positively proven, that the difference between 
the white and translucent portions of the endosperm is a differ- 
ence in density analogous to the difference between snow and 
ice. The difference is readily noted in pop maize before and 
after popping. 

Hopkins reports finding corneous endosperm to contain two 
per cent more protein than the white endosperm in a dent 
variety, and makes this the basis of selecting strains of maize 
for high protein.^ The question may be raised whether the 
higher percentage of protein found in the corneous endosperm 
may not be due to lack of complete separation from the aleurone 
layer. On the other hand, a somewhat similar condition exists 
in the endosperm of wheat. (62) Analyses of dent, flint, pop 
and soft varieties of maize in which there are wide differences 
in the density of the endosperm do not show material differences 
in the per cent of protein in the whole grain. 

The endosperm occupies about seventy-three per cent of the 
grain, contains about sixty per cent of the protein, four per cent 
of the fat, twelve per cent of the ash and about eighty per cent 
of the carbohydrates, principally starch, of the whole grain. 

The endosperm contains six to ten per cent of protein, eighty- 
nine to ninety-three per cent of carbohydrates and usually less 
than half a per cent each of ash and fat. It appears probable 
that the fat found in the endosperm on analysis may be there 
through absorption from embryo and aleurone layer, since the 
per cent of fat in endosperm is found to increase with the age 
of the grain.- In sweet maize the starch has been changed in 
part to sugar. 

227. The Aleurone Layer is relatively larger than in the 
wheat grain, comprising from eight to fourteen per cent of the 

1 111. Bui. $7, pp. 83-84. 

2 111. Bui. 87. 



156 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 







maize grain ; otherwise it does not differ materially in structure 
from that of wheat. (63) It contains a slightly greater per- 
centage of protein, considerably greater 
percentage of carbohydrates and a much 
less percentage of ash and fat than the 
embryo. 

228. The Hull. — In dent maize the 
hull, including the cap at the base of 
the grain, constitutes, according to Hop- 
kins,' about seven per cent of the grain. 

The hull is easily removed from the 
aleurone layer after soaking in hot water 
for fifteen minutes. The pod or pericarp, 
the integuments or testa, and the nucellus 
or perisperm, which constitute the hull, 
are not easily separable and cannot be 
distinguished except upon microscopic 
examination. (67) In the ripened grain 
the pericarp forms the larger part of the 
hull, the testa being compressed and the 
nucellus much reduced.^ While under the microscope, the hull 
appears to be composed chiefly of cell walls or cellulose, Voor- 
hees'' reports the following composition of the dry substance : 
Ash, 1.3; protein, 6.5; fiber, 16.2; nitrogen-free extract, 74.4; 
fat, 1.6. The nitrogen-free extract of the hull appears to be 
largely gum (pentosan) rather than starch, 

229. Color. — A very large variety of colors is known to occur 
in the grain of different types of maize. The most common 
colors of all types except sweet maize are yellow or white or 
some shade between. In this case the color is due to that of 
the endosperm and possibly also the aleurone layer, but is not 

1 III. Bui. 87, p. 83. 

2 Iowa Bui. 54 (1901), p. 132. 

3 111. Bui. 53, p. 140. 



Cross section of the outer por- 
tion cf a grain of maize; p, 
pericarp ; t, testa or integu- 
ments ; n, nucellus; a, aleu- 
rone layer; s, endosperm 
(adapted from Webber). 



4 



STRUCTURE OF MAIZE 1 57 

due to the hull, which is translucent and merely transmits the 
color from the enclosed material. In blue, purple and black of 
the soft and sweet types the color has been shown to be in the 
aleurone layer.^ In the case of the red color often occurring in 
dent varieties the color is in the hull, as can readily be seen 
upon its removal. This colored hull may overlie a yellow or a 
white endosperm. The continued appearance of red ears in 
yellow or white varieties of dent maize, although such ears are 
seldom used for seed, is an interesting phenomenon not yet 
satisfactorily explained, although sometimes claimed to be due 
to atavism. By selection the red color may become fixed. 

There is no evidence that color affects composition or feeding 
quality. White varieties are more common in the southern 
portion and the yellow varieties are more common in the north- 
ern portion of the United States. The Mississippi Station in 
1895 compiled the yields of white and yellow varieties at seven 
stations in the central and southern Mississippi Valley. In 
1,267 tests with 490 varieties, the average yield of 217 white 
varieties was found to be 2.5 bushels per acre in excess of the 
yield of 273 yellow varieties. At only one of the stations 
(Indiana) have the yellow varieties given the better yield. 

"In connection with the tabulation of the records of corn yields at different 
stations a careful examination was made of the reported yields of wheat and oats, 
and, without going into details, it may be stated that in both the white varieties 
have given the heavier yields." 2 (386) 

This difference in the case of maize is probably due to the 
more southern origin and later maturity of the white varieties as 
compared with the yellow varieties rather than to any inherent 
influence due to color. 

230. Abnormal Growths. — The maize plant is subject to 
numerous abnormal changes. Among these may be mentioned 
tassel grains, one or more ears at nodes of branch in addition 

1 Webber, H. J.: U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. of Veg. Phys. and Path. Bui. 22. 

2 Miss. Bui. ;^^ (1895), p. 69. 



158 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 




to terminal ear, staminate flowers on cob, staminate flower or 
even tassel at end of ear or between two separate ears on the 
same axis, branching cobs and hence ears 
in a variety of forms, two grains in a 
single cupule or alveolus, embryo face re- 
versed or sidewise, two embryos in one 
grain, variegated color in leaves, and red 
husks. 

II. COMPOSITION. 

231. Grain.— While it has been shown 
that considerable variation may be found 

in the composition of individual ears of Two embryos in one grain of 
.i • , r • ,1 maize; b, larger plumule; 

the same variety of maize, the average , , , , 

-" ' o s, smaller plumule ; c, larg- 

COmpOsition of the grain of all varieties er primary root; t, smaller 

J r J . ji n' J. • i' • i* primary root (after Shrenk). 

and of dent and flint varieties is practi- h ;■ v / 

cally identical. The variation in sweet maize is doubtless due 
to the relatively small development of the endosperm. Aside 
from sweet varieties, the rather striking difference in appear- 
ance and physical structure is apparently not due to chemical 
composition. 

The following is a compilation of American analyses of 
the grain of all varieties of maize and of the three principal 
types : ^ 



Sweet 



i 



Number of analyses 
Water . 
Ash ... 

Protein (N X6.25) . 
Crude fiber 
Nitrogen-free extract 
Fat ... 



All va- 
rieties 


Dent 


Flint 


208 


86 


68 


10.9 


10.6 


"•3 


1-5 


1-5 


1.4 


10.5 


10.3 


10.5 


2.1 


2.2 


1-7 


69.6 


70.4 


70.1 


54 


5.0 


5.0 



26 

8.8 
1.9 

11.6 
2.8 

66.8 



8.1 



332. Fodder and Stover. — The following table gives the 

1 U. S. Dept. of Agr., Office of Expt. Sta. E. S. B. 11. 



COMPOSITION OF MAIZE 



159 



average of ninety-nine American analyses of silage, thirty-five of 
maize fodder and sixty of maize stover : 





Silage 


Fodder 


Stover 




Fresh 


Water- 
free 


Field 
cured 


Water- 
free 


Field 
cured 

40.1 


Water- 
free 


Water 


;<>■! 




42.2 




Ash 

Protein (N x 6.25) . 

Crude fiber. .... 


1.4 

1-7 
6.0 


6.6 

8.0 

28.7 


2.7 

4-5 

14-3 


4-7 

7.S 

24.7 


3-4 

3-8 
19.7 


5-7 
6.4 

33-° 


Nitrogen-free extract 

Fat 


II. I 

0.8 


53-0 
3-8 


34-7 
1.6 


60. 1 
2.8 


31-9 
I.I 


53-2 
1-7 



The average composition of the water-free substance of the 
sixty samples of maize stover is almost identical with the average 
composition of sixty-eight samples of timothy hay except a some- 
what higher percentage of fat in the latter and a corresponding 
decrease in the nitrogen-free extract. 

233. Water. — The per cent of water in both the grain and 
stover of maize when field cured is extremely variable. When 
the ears have dried in a crib for a year, the grain will contain 
under ordinary conditions from ten to eleven per cent of water, 
but at the time of husking it contains very much more. For 
example, the Illinois Station found, during 1888, 1889 and 1890, 
the average per cent of water in varieties of different maturities 
to be as follows : 

Early maturing varieties 
Medium maturing varieties 
Late maturing varieties . 
Non-maturing varieties . 

On this basis i,ooo bushels of medium maturing maize would 
lose, upon becoming thoroughly air-dry, a weight of water 
equivalent to 115 bushels of shelled maize. If this 1,000 



No. of varie- 


Av. per cent 


ties tested 


of water 


44 


17. 1 


103 


21.3 


45 


26.4 


23 


36.8 



l6o THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

bushels of shelled maize could be sold for fifty cents when 
gathered, it would be necessary to get fifty-seven cents a bushel 
when thoroughly air-dry in order to get the same amount for it. 

Different varieties vary greatly in regard to the percentage of 
moisture which they contain. Two varieties of maturing maize 
have been grown the same season which contained sixteen and 
thirty-four per cent of water respectively. In the former case, 
i,ooo bushels of shelled maize when husked would make 945 
bushels when air-dry, while in the latter case 1,000 bushels 
would make only 740 bushels when air-dry. In the first it 
would take seventy pounds of ears as husked to make a bushel 
of air-dry shelled maize, while in the last instance it would 
take ninety-seven pounds of ears to make a bushel when air- 
dried. The weight of maize as husked does not, therefore, 
indicate accurately its food value. 

The per cent of water in field cured fodder has been found 
to vary from twenty-three to sixty per cent and in field cured 
stover from fifteen to fifty-seven per cent, thus greatly modifying 
the pounds of dry substance per ton and consequently the 
feeding value per ton of field cured substance. At the Con- 
necticut Station^ field cured maize fodder was placed in the 
barn giving perfect shelter November nth, when it contained 
twenty-seven per cent of water. On February 8th, after much 
warm and damp weather, it contained fifty-four per cent of 
water. Thus maize fodder which weighed five tons when put 
in storage in November weighed eight tons three months later. 
This is probably unusual, but it shows the possibility of varia- 
tion of weight due to atmospheric conditions. 

The water in silage has been found to vary from 62.4 to 87.7 
per cent. In the first instance a ton of silage would contain 
more than three times as much dry matter as the latter. When 
the practice of putting maize in the silo was first started, 
it was the custom to harvest at a much earlier period of growth 
than at present. The average of 79.1 per cent of water in silage 

1 Conn. Rpt. 187S, p. 64. 



COMPOSITION OF MAIZK 



l6l 



given in table (232) is based entirely upon analyses made prior 
to 1890. It is probable that much of the silage at the present 
time contains seventy per cent or less of water. Silage at the 
Wisconsin Station^ in 1893 contained 64.3, and in 1894, 70.7 
per cent of water. In an experimental sample the per cent of 
water in the maize plant when it was put into the silo was 68.9, 
while when taken out it was 71.2 per cent. It thus appears that 
the loss of dry matter in silage is greater than the loss of water. 

234. Ash. — The maize grain is characterized by a com- 
paratively low percentage of ash. The ash appears to be prin- 
cipally phosphates of potassium and magnesium.^ The ash 
contains approximately fifty per cent of phosphoric acid (P2O5), 
thirty per cent of potash (K^O), and fifteen per cent of magnesia 
(MgO). The extremely small amount of lime (CaO) present, 
about two per cent, has an important bearing upon the feeding 
value of maize when fed to growing pigs exclusively or only in 
connection with milk. Schweitzer found that the maize plant 
removed from an acre of land 219 pounds of ash and 135 pounds 
of nitrogen. One-fourth the ash and one-half the nitrogen was 
removed by the ear.^ 

The Massachusetts Station has found the fertilizing constit- 
uents in air-dry substance to be as follows : 



Water 
Nitrogen . 
Potassium oxide 
Sodium oxide . 
Calcium oxide . 
Magnesium oxide 
Phosphoric acid 



Grain, 


Whole ear, 


per cent 


per cent 


10.00 


9.00 


1.82 


141 


0.40 


0.47 


j 0.03 


0.06 


0.03 


0.02 


0.21 


0.18 


0.70 


0.57 



Stover, 
per cent 



28.20 
1. 12 

1-32 
0.79 
0.52 
0.26 
0.30 



1 Wis. Rpt. 1895, p. 276. 

2 111. Bui. 53, pp. 157-159. 

3 Mo. Bui. 9, p. 23. 



l62 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

235. Protein. — In the analyses of the 208 air-dry samples 
including all varieties, the protein (N x 6.25) was found to vary 
from seven to 15.3 per cent. The usual limit of variation lies 
between eight and twelve per cent.^ 

Osborne^ has studied the proteids of the maize grain and has 
distinguished them according to their solubilities as follows : 

" a Proteid, soluble in pure water, having some of the properties of proteose. 

" b Globulins, insoluble in pure water, but soluble in salt solutions. 

" c Proteid, insoluble in water and salt solutions, but soluble in alcohol of 60 to 
99 per cent. 

" d Proteid matter, insoluble in water, salt solutions and alcohol, but soluble in 
dilute alkalies and acids." 

The most important of these compounds, both on account of 
its quantity and because it is a characteristic of the maize grain, 
is the proteid soluble in dilute alcohol, called zein. 

No proteids are found in the maize grain which give to its 
meal the properties which gluten (mixture of gliadin and glu- 
tenin) gives to wheat flour. Zein in maize corresponds in some 
of its chemical properties to gliadin in wheat, but it is neither 
sticky nor plastic. 

236. Carbohydrates. — The chief constituent of the carbo- 
hydrates of the maize grain is starch, which may constitute 
sixty-five per cent of the total dry substance. In the manufac- 
ture of starch, fifty-five per cent of commercial starch may be 
obtained from the water-free grain. Besides the starch, the 
carbohydrates consist of two per cent of fiber, five per cent of 
gum (pentosans), and small quantities of sugar (sucrose and 
dextrine). 

237. Fat. — The fat of maize is fluid at ordinary temperatures, 
solidifying at — 36° F., and is hence known in commerce as 
corn oil. It is composed principally of linolin and olein and 

has a specific gravity of about .925.^ 

1 U. S. Dept. of Agr., Yearbook 1901, p. 304. 

2 Conn. Rpt. 1896, p. 391. 

3 111. Bui. 53 (1898), p. 170. 



X. 

MAIZE. 

CLASSIFICATION AND VARIETIES 

238. Species. — No wild species belonging to the genus Zca 
having with certainty been identified, all the knowledge we have 
of maize is obtained from its cultivated types, all of which have 
been considered as coming from one species {Zea mays L.). 
Apart from pod maize, there are five types or classes which are 
readily recognizable and when kept pure breed true to type. 
Although the different types cross readily, intermediate types 
are not common. The difference in these types is due primarily 
to the arrangement and character of the endosperm, although 
accompanied with and resulting therefrom are marked variations 
in the shape of the grain. (226) 

If a dent maize grain is split through its two longest diame- 
ters, the endosperm will appear to consist of two parts. In the 
central part the endosperm will appear white, while on either 
side it is glossy or corneous (horny). Sturtevant first pointed 
out the relation between the character of the endosperm and the 
five types of maize. The several types he has called agricultural 
species and proposed Latin names for them as follows : 

1. Pod maize (Zea tunicata). 

2. Pop maize (Zea everta). 

3. Flint maize {Zea indurata). 

4. Dent maize {Zea indentata). 

5. Soft maize {Zea amylacea). 

6. Sweet maize {Zea saccharata). 

In this book these proposed species will be referred to as the 
types of maize, and variations within these types will be called 
varieties. 



164 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



239. Pod Maize. — In this type of maize each grain is covered 
with a husk in addition to the ear itself being so covered. The 
plant is excessively leafy, the tassels usually 
heavy and inclined to produce grains. The 
plant suckers abundantly. The grains may 
be of any of the types of maize hereafter 
described, suggesting 
that this was the prim- 
itive type from which 
they have been de- 
rived, and also, that 
the differentiation into 
these types occurred 





Pod maize : one-third natural size. 

before the podded character became 
abortive. Reversion is now occasion- 
ally seen in cultivated forms. Pod 
maize is rarely grown even as a 
curiosity. 

240. Pop Maize is that type in 
which all or almost all of the endo- 
sperm is glossy or corneous. Some- 
times, perhaps usually, there is a thin 
layer of white or soft endosperm 
around the embryo. The grain is 
usually an elongated oval in outline 
and extremely hard. The only type 
with which it can be confused is the 
flint. The small size of the grain and 
its property of " popping " makes iden- 






Flint maize: ear one-third natural 
size ; grain about natural size. 



CLASSIFICATION OF MAIZE 



J6S 



tification certain. When the dry grain is exposed for a short 
time to a high temperature, it explodes into a snow-white fluffy 
palatable mass, the endosperm being everted about the embryo 
and hull. This property of popping is connected with the den- 
sity of the endosperm. A small amount of white endosperm 
does not unfavorably affect popping, but if the white portion 
is in excess, as in flint maize, the corneous portion explodes 
without everting the endosperm. 

The varieties of pop maize may be divided into two groups, 
rice and pearl, with the golden as a rather 
distinct type of the pearl. The rice pop 
has a very pointed grain at the top, with 
a tendency to have the grains imbricated 
instead of side by side and to have the 
ears cone-shaped. In the pearl pop the 
top of the grain is smooth and rounded ; 
the grains are compactly arranged upon 
the cob and are very dense and lus- 
trous in appearance. The ears are cylin- 
drical. 

The plant of pop maize is said to vary 
with variety, climate and soil from eighteen 
inches to twelve feet ; the usual variation 
being from five to seven feet. The ten- 
one-third natural size; grain dency to bear many ears is strongly 

pearl variety, about natural j^^^j^^^ ^^J thC plant is mUCh SUbjCCt tO 

sports. The ears vary from one to eight 
and a half inches; usually from four to six inches in length 
and from one to one and a half inches in diameter. Variations 
from eight to thirty rows are reported, with twelve to sixteen 
rows the most common. An ordinary weight is from three to 
four ounces per ear. 

The following table gives weight and dimensions of the grain 
of four varieties of pop maize : 




Pop maize: ear rice variety, 



i66 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA. 



Size of Grain of Pop Maize. 





White 
rice 


Red 
rice 


White 
pearl 


Queen's 
golden 


Weight of loo grains in grams 
Length in inches . 
Width in inches 
Thickness in inches 


II. 7 
0.3S 
0.19 
0.16 


8.6 
0.38 
0.17 
0.15 


10.9 
0.30 
0.23 
0.15 


15.2 

0-35 
0.25 
0.16 



The white rice, nearly a mean between the red rice and the 
Queen's golden, contained about 4,000 grains to the pound. It 
would thus take about three pounds of this variety to plant an 
acre. The rice pops are nearly square in cross section, while the 
pearl and golden are considerably wider than thick. 

Pop maize has been reported from Ottawa, Canada, in North 
America to Peru in South America, and the evidence indicates 
a prehistoric culture.^ At present it is extensively grown for 
human consumption when popped. The season in the United 
Stales is reported for different varieties and climates from 
seventy to 146 days; usually from ninety to 135 days. The 
white rice variety is most commonly used by commercial growers. 

241. Flint Maize is that type in which the split grain shows 
the embryo and the white endosperm with the glossy endosperm 
surrounding. The position of the glossy endosperm usually 
prevents the grain from denting, but when glossy endosperm is 
thin, the shrinkage of the white endosperm may cause a slight 
dent. The internal structure serves to distinguish it from the 
dent type. 

The plant varies in height from four to nine feet ; usually 
from five to eight feet. The tendency to be two-eared is con- 
siderably stronger than in the dent varieties. As compared with 
dent varieties, the ears are longer relative to their diameter and 
are rather more cylindrical, with often a tendency to enlargement 
at the butt. Ears vary in length from four to twelve, even six- 

1 U. S. Dept. of Agr., O. E. S. Bui. 57, pp. 15-16. 



VARIETIES OF MAIZE 167 

teen, inches; usually seven to ten inches, with specimen ears 
twelve inches long not uncommon. The diameter varies from 
one and one-quarter to two inches ; usually from one and three- 
eighths to one and five-eighths inches. The number of rows on 
the ear varies from eight to sixteen, with eight rows the most 
common. Twelve-rowed varieties are more common than ten- 
rowed. A good ear of an eight-rowed variety will weigh from 
six to seven ounces. 

The grains are hard, smooth, and more or less oval, with 
usually white or golden orange grains, although purple, brown 
and copper red sometimes occur. In the eight-rowed varieties 
the typical grain is one-half inch broad by three-eighths inch 
deep ; when more than eight-rowed, three-eighths inch broad and 
deep; in thickness, all are about one-sixth of an inch. The 
average weight of loo grains of an eight-rowed variety is about 
thirty-three grams, or about 1,400 to the pound. 

This type is reported maturing at 50° north latitude.^ The 
season varies from ninety to 140 days, 100 to 120 days being 
the most common. On account of its early maturity, this type 
is largely and principally grown in the New England States, 
New York State, Canada and regions of similar climatic con- 
ditions for field purposes ; rarely a variety is grown for garden 
purposes. 

Following is a list of- varieties of flint maize recommended 
principally for grain production by the stations indicated, in- 
cluding, where possible, the color of the grain of each and the 
number of years, tested : 

1 U. S. Dept. of Agr., O. E. S. Bui. 5;, p. 16. 



i68 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



Table Containing Varieties of Flint Maize Recommended by- 
Various Stations. 



Station 


Authority 
(Bulletin) 


Variety 


Color 


No. years 
tested 


Canada 








O. A. C. & E. F. 


Rpt. 1902 


King Phillip 
Longfellow 


Y 
Y 




Kansas 


64 


King Phillip 


Y 




Nevada 


Rpt. 1891 


Canada Yellow l 


Y 




New Hampshire 


92 


Sanford 


W 




North Dakota 


Rpt. 1902 


French Squaw No. 32 

Gehu No. 123 

North Dakota No. 148 


W 
Y 
W 




South Carolina 


61 


Yellow Flint Com 
(On thin upland) 


Y 




Oregon 


35 


King Phillip 


Y 




South Dakota 


24 


King Phillip 
Smut Nose 


Y 
W 




Utah 


66 


White Flint 


W 


10 






Angel of Midnight 


R 


10 






North Dakota 


W 


7 






Golden Dewdrop 


Y 


7 






Squaw Corn 


W 


7 






King Phillip 


Y 


9 






Long Yellow Flint 


Y 


10 


Vermont 


Rpt. 1890 


Thoroughbred White Flint 

Waushakum 

Sanford 

Orange County White 

Longfellow 

Milliken's Prize 

Early Demond 

Canada Twelve-rowed 

Angel of Midnight 


W 
Y 

W 

w 

Y 
Y 

Y 
R 




Wisconsin 


19 


King Phillip 


Y 




Wyoming 


22 


Angel of Midnight 
Rideout Corn 


R 
Y 





1 Did not ripen grain. 



VARIETIES OF MAIZE 



169 



242. Dent Maize is that type in which the split grain shows 
the embryo, the glossy endosperm on each side, and the white 
endosperm extending to the top. The grain is indented on the 
top, evidently because the soft endosperm shrinks in the central 
portion as tlie grain ripens, while the denser endosperm holds 
the sides in a straight line. The relative position and amounts of 
the soft and dense endosperm cause differences in the character 
and extent of indentation, varying from a 
ragged dent or projecting flap to a mere 
dimple or circular depression. Occasionally 
the grains toward the tip of the ear do not 
indent, although retaining their dent structure. 
While there is a wide variation due to cli- 
mate, season, soil and variety (210), the plant 
usually varies in height from 
eight to twelve feet, generally 
bears but one car and is not 
given to suckering unless thinly 
planted. This type is charac- 
terized for its deep grains, rather 
large diameter of ears and large 
number of rows, as high as forty- 
eight rows having been reported 
for individual ears. Variety dif- 
ferences range from eight to 
twenty-four rows, sixteen to 
twenty being the most common. 
Ears vary in length from five to 
thirteen inches, and in diameter 
from one and one-half to two 
and one-half inches. A good sized ear is eight to nine inches 
long and from six and one-half to seven inches in circumference 
at two-fifths its length from the butt. Ten inches is rather long 
for a dent ear, while seven inches is a good length for smaller 






Dent maize : ear one-third natural size ; 
grain about natural size. 



lyo THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

varieties. It is a good ear that weighs three-fourths of a pound. 
It takes about loo good ears to make a bushel of shelled maize. 
One hvmdred ears of early maturing dent maize will weigh about 
fifty pounds ; of medium maturing, sixty-five pounds ; and of 
late maturing, eighty pounds. One hundred selected ears will 
weigh sixty, seventy-five and ninety pounds respectively. 

Usually the grains are wedge-shaped and deeper than broad. 
A typical dent grain is five-eighths of an inch deep by three 
eighths broad and one-sixth of an inch thick. The most com- 
mon colors are yellow and white, although red grains or those 
striped with red or similar colors occur in some varieties. Sports 
of this sort are not uncommon in yellow and white varieties and 
in some instances this character has been fixed by selection. 
There is considerable variation in weight of grain : a range of 
thirty-five to forty-five grams per loo grains, or from i,ooo to 
Jt>3'^o grains per pound, is common. 

The season ranges from ninety to 150 or even 160 days. 
There is a wide variation in the same variety in difl^erent lati- 
tudes and different seasons in the same latitude. In the maize 
belt States early varieties usually matrn^e from 100 to 115 clays, 
medium varieties from no to 135 days and late varieties from 
130 to 145 days in ordinary seasons. Dent and flint types fur- 
nish all the commercial grain of maize, as well as practically all 
of the maize fodder and maize ensilage. Only a small fraction 
of the total is furnished by the flint type. 

243. Description of a Good Dent Ear. — While variety differ- 
ences are permissible, there are certain characteristics that are 
more or less desirable in all varieties. It should be borne in 
mind that while these ideal characteristics are desirable, other 
things being equal, their lack of perfection may not prevent a 
variety from producing high yields or having in other particulars 
desirable qualities. Cows without horns are desirable, but this 
does not prevent cows with horns being good milkers. The ear 
should taper uniformly from butt to tip and should be as near 



VARIETIES OF MAIZE 



171 



as possible cylindrical. Such an ear holds the largest amount 
of grain and contains the largest percentage of grain in propor- 
tion to cob, other things equal. Both the butt and tip should 
be well filled for same reasons and because this indicates full 
development and maturity as well as adaptation to soil, latitude 
or season. (217) Excessive length is not desirable when 
obtained at the expense of pooily filled butt and tip. A good 
proportion between circumference and length is three to four, or a 
circumference of six inches for an ear eight inches long. A good 
size for the circumference of the cob is from three and two- 
thirds to four and one-third inches. The cob should be neither 
too large nor too small. It is evident that of two ears of equal 
size and compactness, the one with the small cob will contain 
the more grain. On the other hand, while small cobs usually 

contain the larger proportion of 
grain, the total weight of the ear 
is often much less and the yield 
smaller. A large cob that is not 
obtained at the expense of the 
depth of the grain will contain 

Space between rows well filled and not the largest amOUUt of grain. Ex- 
well filled. • 1 1 11 

cessively large cobs, however, are 
objectionable, as they usually carry large percentages of water, 
thus lowering the keeping quality of the grain and its vitality 
for seed. This is likely to be true of ears with enlarged butt 
and ears that are distinctly tapering, as well as making them 
more difficult to husk on account of the size of the juncture with 
the shank. In a good ear the shelled maize will occupy the 
same space as the ear before it was shelled. It is a good rela- 
tionship where the depth of grain is one-half the diameter of 
the cob or the circumference of the ear twice the circumference 
of the cob. The legal standard in most States is seventy 
pounds of ears and fifty-six pounds of grain per bushel, or a 
ratio of cob to grain of one to four or a trifle more. Variations 




172 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

of fifty-three to sixty-three pounds of grahi for seventy pounds 
of air-dried ears have been noted.^ 

Shamel states that grains with thin tips have low vitality and 
are low in per cent of fat and protein and high in starch.^ 
While it is evident that, other things equal, wide sulci or space 
between rows will reduce the percentage of grain to cob, it 
happens that some varieties, as, for example, Hickory King, 
with large space between rows, have relatively small cobs ; hence 
large percentage of grain although small weight per ear. The 
roughness of the ear is dependent upon the character of the in- 
dentation of the grain. Grains which cause rough ears are 
usually longer but somewhat less compact than those causing 
smooth ears. While a smooth ear is pleasanter to husk, there 
are some excellent varieties whose ears are rough. Aside from 
its influence upon husking, its importance would seem to be due 
to the cause which produced it. If a rough ear was caused by 
lack of proper development and resulted in chaffy, loose grains, 
it is to be looked upon as undesirable. 

244. List of Varieties of Dent Maize. — Four white and three 
yellow varieties have been recognized as distinct varieties by 
the Illinois Corn Breeders' Association, as follows : (White) 
Boone County White, Silver Mine, White Superior; (Yellow) 
Leaming, Reid's Yellow Dent, Riley's Favorite and Golden 
Eagle. 

Following is a list of varieties of dent maize recommended 
principally for grain production by the stations indicated, in- 
cluding, where possible, the color of the grain of each and the 
number of years tested : 

1 Miss. Bui. 33, p. 76. 

2 Manual of Corn Judging, p. 63. 



VARIETIES OF DENT MAIZE 



^73 



Table containing varieties of dent maize recommended by 
various stations. (Rated on the basis of grain production, 
except as otherwise indicated.) 



Station 


Authority 


Variety 


Color 


No. Years 




(Bulletin) 




Tested 


Alabama 








(Canebrake) 


lO 


Madison County Red 


Y 


2 


(Auburn) 


III 


Mosby 


W 


5 






St. Charles 


W 


5 






Expt. Station Yellow 


Y 


5 






Blount 


W 


5 






Hickory King 


W 


5 


Arkansas 


59 


Golden Beauty 


Y 


2 






^^^lite Dent 


W 


2 






Early Mastodon 


Y 


2 






Champion White Pearl 


W 


2 






Hickory King 


W 


2 






Golden Dent 


Y 


2 




* 


Learning 


Y 


2 


Canada 










O.A.C.&E.F. 


Rpt. 1902 


North Star Yellow Dent 


Y 


3 


Colorado 


Rpt. 1889 


Adams Early 


W 




Georgia 


62 


Marlboro Prolific 
Henry Grady 
Sander's Improved 
Eureka 

Weekley's Improved 
Cocke's Prolific 
Bradberry's Improved 
Moyer's Improved 


W 

Y 

Y 
W 
Y 
Y 








Stone's White 


W 


I to II 






Fitzpatrick's Improved 


Y 








Shaw's Yellow 


V 








Shaw White 


W 








Smith's Improved 


Y 








Snowflake 










Improved Golden Dent 


Y 








Stone's Yellow Shoe Pad 


Y 




Illmois 


42 


Boone County White 


W 


6 






Champion White Pearl 


W 


6 






Burr's White 


W 


6 



174 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



Varieties of Dent Maize. — Continued. 



\ 



Station 


Authority 
(Bulletin) 


Variety 


Color 


No. Years 
Tested 


Illinois 










— Continued 


42 


Learning 


Y 


6 






Clark's Iroquois 


Y 


6 






Legal Tender 


Y 


6 






Murdock 


Y 


6 






Edmonds 


Y 


6 






Riley's Favorite 


Y 


6 






Golden Beauty 


Y 


6 


Indiana 


55 


Purdue Yellow Dent 


Y 


5 






Hartman's White 


W 


5 






Fleming's Yellow 


Y 


5 






Boone County White 


W 


5 






Yellow Speckled Dent 


Y 


5 






Early Yellow 


Y 


5 






Riley's Favorite 


Y 


5 


Iowa 


55 


Reid Yellow Dent 


Y 


3 






Legal Tender 


Y 


3 






Snow Flake White 


W 


3 






Seckler Perfection 




3 






Champion White Pearl 


W 


3 






Golden Beauty 


Y 


3 






Mammoth Cuban 




3 






Western Yellow Dent 


Y 


3 






Nebraska White Prize 


W 


3 






Lenocher Homestead 




3 


Kansas 


64 


Early Thompson 


Y 


3 






Hartman 


W 


3 






Early White 


W 


3 






Pride of Kansas 




3 






Boone County White 


W 


3 






Early Yellow Rose 










Champion Yellow Dent 


Y 


3 






Basis of Grain and Stover : 






Louisiana 


71 


Virginia White Dent 

Gandy 

Champion Yellow Dent 

Red Driver 

•Yellow Creole 


W 
Y 





1 



VARIETIES OK DENT MAIZE 



175 



Varieties of Dent Maize. — Continued. 



Station 



Authority 
(Bulletin) 



Louisiana 

— Continued 

Massachusetts 
(Hatch) 



Mississippi 
Missoui 

Nebraska 



Rpt. 1902 



32 



8-. 



Nevada 



New Hampshire 



Rpt. 1 89 1 



92 



Variety 



Marlboro's Prolific 
Clark's Early Mastodon 

Ensilage Vars : 

Rural Thoroughbred 

Learning Field 

Eureka 

Boston Market (sweet) 

Mosby Prolific 
Tatum Choice 

Golden Beauty 

Learning 

Piasa King 

St. Charles White 

Hogue's Yellow Dent 

Reid's Yellow Dent 

Legal Tender 

Golden Row 

Golden Cap 

Snowflake White 

Early Yellow Rose 

Nebraska White Prize 

Learning 

Mammoth Golden Yellow 

Calico 

Early Cattle King 

Iowa Gold Mine 

Boone County White 

Mai^imoth White Pearl 

Silver Mine 

Riley's Favorite 

Pride of the North 

Minnesota No. 13 

Pride of the North 
-Stover : 

Piasa Queen 

Learning 



Color 



No. Years 
Tested 



Y 

W 
W 

Y 
Y 
W 
\V 

Y 
Y 
Y 
Y 
Y 
W 
Y 
W 
Y 
Y 
Mixed 
Y 
Y 
W 
\V 
W 
Y 
Y 



176 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

Varieties of Dent Maize. — Continued. 



Station 


Authority 
(Bulletin) 


Variety 


Color 


No. Years 
Tested 






Ensilage Varieties: 






New York 


Rpt. 1889 


Hickory King 
Blount's Prolific 
Burrill & Whitman 
Cleveland's Colossal 


W 
W 
W 








Piasa Queen 


Y 


I 






Grain and Stover: 






North Carolina 


i-i 


loo-Uay Bristol 
Delaware Co. Dent 
Johnson & Stokes' Giant 

Beauty 
Learning 
Golden Beauty 

Grain and Silage: 
Cocke's Prolific 
Northern White Field 
Blount's Prolific 
White Dent 
Red Cob Ensilage 


W 

Y 
Y 

W 
W 
W 
W 
W 




Nort)i Dakota 


Rpt. 1902 


Northwestern Dent No. 124 
Early Ripe Fodder No. 152 


Y 




Ohio 


140 


Missouri Learning 


Y 


I 






Reid's Yellow Dent 


Y 


2 






Henderson's Eureka 


Y 


3 






Farmer's Favorite 


Y 


3 






Darke Co. Early Mammoth 


Y 


6 






Learning 


Y 


4 






Medium Maturing Varieties : 










C la rage 


Y 


10 






Learning Cuppy 


Y 


5 






White Cap Yellow Dent 


W & Y 


7 






Early Maturing Varieties : 










Pride of the North 


Y 


8 






King of the Earliest 


Y 


9 






Early Butler 


Y 


10 






Extra Early Huron Dent 


Y 


9 



VARIETIES OF DENT MAIZE 



177 



Varieties of Dent Maize. — Continued. 



station 


Authority 
(Bulletin) 


Variety 


Color 


No.Years 
Tested 






For Grain and Silage : 






Oregon 


35 


Pride of the North 
Minnesota King 
Huron Pure Yellow Dent 
Forsyth's 
On Bottom Land: 


Y 
Y 
Y 




South Carolina 


61 


Boggs' Home-grown 
Albemarle Prolific 
Whitmire's Mt. Seed Corn 
Garrick's 
On Thin Upland : 
Albemarle Prolific 
Garrick's Improved 
J. E. Lewis' Prolific 
Sander's Improved 
Boggs' Home-grown 
Mosby's Prolific 


W 

W 

W 
Y 




South Dakota 


24 


Loveland's Dent 
Hughson's Dent 
Pride of the North 
Minnesota King 


R 
Y 
Y 
Y 




Tennessee 


XIV, No.i 


No. 3,889 

Improved Golden Beauty 
Improved Learning 
Varieties for Fodder : 

Florida 
No. 3,889 
Ellis 
Huffman 


Y 
Y 

W 


I 
I 


Texas 


49 


Blount's Prolific 


W 


3 






Murdock 


Y 


3 






Golden Beauty 


Y 


3 






Forsyth's Favorite 


W 


2 






Hickory King 


^v 


3 






Learning 


V 


3 






Early Mastodon 


Y 


3 






Southern White Gourd Seed 


W 


3 






Riley's Favorite 


Y 


3 



178 



THE -CEREALS IN AMERICA 

Varieties of Dent Maize. — Continued. 



Station 


Authority 
(Bulletin) 


Variety 


Color 


No. Years 
Tested 


Utah 


66 


Salzer's Earhest Canadian 










Yellow 


Y 


S 






Wisconsin Early White 


W 


8 






Long Yellow Dent 


Y 


5 






Queen of the North 


Y 


7 






Clark's Early Mastodon 


Y 


9 






King of the Earliest 


Y 


10 






Early Huron Dent 


Y 


7 






Queen of the Field 


Y 


10 






Champion White Pearl 


W 


10 






Hickory King 


W 


9 






Ensilage Varieties : 






Vermont 


Rpt. 1890 


Burrill & Whitman 
Capital 

Champion Pearl 
Early Prolific 
Early Mastodon 
Evans 

Hickory King 
Prairie Queen 
Virginia Horsetooth 


w 

Y 
W 
W 
Y 
Y 
W 
Y 
W 




Wisconsin 


19 


Southern Horsetooth 
Southern Ensilage 
Smedley Dent 
Normandy White Giant 
Fargo Bros. Ensilage 
Burrill & Whitman Ensilage 
Sibley's Sheep Tooth 
Evergreen (sweet) 


Y 

W 




Wyoming 


22 


Minnesota King 


Y 








Dakota Dent 


Y 





VARIETIES OF MAIZE 



179 



245. Classification of Dent Varieties. — Dent varieties may be 
classified into eighteen groups as follows : 

C Ears smooth — i 



Early maturing 



Grains white 
"j Grains yellow 
^ Grains other colors 

f Grains white 



Ears rough 
Ears smooth 


— 3 


Ears rough 
Ears smooth 


— 4 

— 5 


Ears rough 


— 6 


Ears smooth 


— 7 



Medium niaturintr " 



Grains yellow 



Ears rough — 8 
Ears smooth — 9 

Ears roujrh — 10 



( Ears smooth — 1 1 
Grains other colors J 

( Ears rough — 1 2 





( Ears smooth 


— 13 


Grains white 


} 






( Ears rough 


—14 




( Ears smooth 


— 15 


Grains yellow 


] 






( Ears rough 


—16 




( Ears smooth 


— 17 


Grains other colors 


] 






( Ears rough 


—18 



Late maturing 



Classification based upon maturity is open to the objection 
that the maturity is affected by season and climate, that what is 
an early variety in one locality may become a late variety in 
another, and vice versa. A classification based upon roughness 
of ear is difficult because of the almost insensible gradation 
from extreme smoothness to extreme roughness. 

A classification based upon specimen ears alone may be as 



l8o THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

follows : grains broader than deep; as deep as broad, and deeper 
than broad. It may be further subdivided according to even- 
ness of ear : shallow rounding, moderately rounding, or deeply 
rounding at butt ; and still further subdivided in accordance with 
the shape of ear, number of rows per ear, and color of grains. 

246. Soft Maize is that type in which the endosperm is white, 
the corneous endosperm being entirely absent. The shape and 
outward appearance of the grain is similar to that of the flint 
type, but varies in size from not much larger than grains of pop 
maize to the largest known. The variety Cuzco from Peru has 
grains fifteen-sixteenths inch deep by eleven-sixteenths inch 
broad. The color is quite variable. The ears resemble those 
of the flint type, but are usually shorter, with slightly larger 
diameter. 

This type is widely distributed and apparently was largely 
grown by the Indians on account of the ease with which it could 
be crushed. It is not grown for commercial purposes in North 
America. It is said that in some instances it is grown in place 
of sweet maize for eating green along the western coast of South 
America. Most of the varieties experimented with in the United 
States have either not matured or else have been very late in 
maturing. 

247. Sweet Maize is that type in which the endosperm is 
translucent and horny in appearance, the starch having been 
more or less reduced to sugar. 

What is probably a variation from this type is described by Sturtevant as starchy- 
sweet corn {Zea amyUasaccItaraia Sturt.). In this type the lower half of the grain is 
starchy, the upper half homy and translucent ; otherwise it is like the ordinary 
sweet type. Varieties of this type were found in the San Pedro Indian collection, 
but failed to mature at Geneva, N. Y. 1 

The grains of sweet maize are usually broadly wedge-shaped, 
with more or less rounded summit and a characteristically 
wrinkled surface. While varying largely, a typical grain is one- 

1 Bui. Torr. Bot. Club, Vol. XXI, No. 8, p. 334. 



VARIETIES OF MAIZE 



1«I 




half inch deep, three-eighths inch wide by one-eighth inch thick. 
One hundred grains commonly weigh from twenty to twenty- 
seven grams, or from 1,700 to 2,800 grains per pound. The 
plant is reported to vary in height from two to ten feet ; usually 
from five to eight feet, and not infrequently bears more than 
one ear. There is considerable tendency to sucker. The ears 
vary in length from four to eleven inches ; usually from six to 

eight inches, and in diameter from 
one and one-fourth to two and one- 
fourth inches ; usually from one and 
one-half to one and three-fourths 
inches. The rows vary from eight 
to twenty-four, the greater number of 
varieties being twelve-rowed. Stowell 
Evergreen, the variety most exten- 
sively grown for canning purposes, is 
somewhat larger : ear seven to nine 
and one-half inches long, diameter 
two and one-fourth inches ; twelve 
to twenty-rowed. 

The weight of ear varies largely 
with variety, those of early varieties 
being much smaller than late varie- 

Sweet maize : variety. Stowell Ever- ^j^^^ SclcCted CarS haVe bcCn f OUnd 
green. Ear and cross section one- 
third natural size; grain natural to Vary f rom sevcH and a half pounds 

*'"• to seventy-five pounds per hundred, 

the most common weight being from twenty- five to forty pounds 
per hundred for selected ears. 

The time required to bring sweet maize into edible condi- 
tion varies with variety, climate and season from fifty-four to 
115 days ; usually from sixty to ninety days. From the earliest 
to the latest varieties there is a difference in any one season of 
from three to four weeks. Sweet maize is extensively raised for 
cooking and eating while in the milk stage. It forms the basis 





l82 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

of a large canning industry in the North Atlantic and North 
Central States. It is less generally grown in the Southern 
States. It is believed to improve in quality as it proceeds 
northward, Maine grown sweet maize being especially prized. 

" The first sweet corn recorded in American cultivation was the Papoon corn, an 
eight-rowed variety with red cob, introduced into the region about Plymouth, Mass., 
from the Indians of the Susquehanna in 1779." ^ 

Eleven stations have recommended lists of varieties of sweet 
maize. The following list has been recommended by three 
or more stations : Early : Cory, Marblehead, Crosby, Chicago 
Market, Early Landreth; Medium: Squantum, Maule's XX, 
Stabler's Early ; Late : Ne Plus Ultra, Stowell Evergreen, 
Country Gentleman. 

248. Number of Varieties. — The distinct names given to 
varieties of maize are almost innumerable, and no complete 
study of them has ever been made. Sturtevant^ describes 507 
varieties and 266 synonyms classified by types as follows : 

Number of Number of 

Type varieties . synonyms 

Pop ... 25 18 

Flint ... 69 85 

Dent . . - 323 109 

Soft ... 27 I 

Sweet ... 63 53 

It is stated that some of the varieties would upon further 
study be found to be synonyms of other varieties. 

249. Varieties for Silage. — The dent type is used almost ex- 
clusively for silage on account of its greater total yield of forage. 
Experiments made at the Maine Station,''' where dent varieties 
have the least adaptation of any State for ordinary field pur- 

1 U. S. Dept. of Agr., O. E. S. Bui. 57, p. 18. 

2 Varieties of Corn. U. S. Dept. of Agr.. O. E. S. Bui. 57. 

3 Me. Rpt. 1891, p. 44. 



1 



VARIKIIES OK MAIZE 183 

pose, show the following results for three years 1889 to 1891 
inclusive : 

Total crop as har- Yield of dry matter 
Type Variety vested per acre per acre 

Dent White Horse-tooth ^ 35'i9S 4)798 

Flint Local 28,080 3,804 

Sweet Early Crosby i9>i97 2,893 

During five years the average yield of dry matter has been 
for therdent variety 5,036 pounds and for the flint variety 4,224 
pounds. The Pennsylvania Station ^ found that the dent fodder 
yielded forty-five per cent more dry matter than flint fodder. 
The flint variety contained a considerably larger percentage of 
protein and smaller percentage of crude fiber. At Cornell 
Station ^ Sibley's Pride of the North yielded ten per cent more 
dry matter than an eight-rowed flint. Ontario Agricultural 
College compared the feeding value of dent maize and sweet 
maize silage and found the latter slightly superior in feeding 
value — believed to be due to greater palatability in this case — 
but the increased yield of dent maize more than compensated 
for the decrease in feeding value.* 

Varieties originating in the South Atlantic and South Central 
States are frequently sold in the North Atlantic and North 
Central States as silage maize. The season of growth being 
longer than northern grown varieties, they continue to grow later 
in the season, thus often producing a greater yield of silage per 
acre than those varieties grown principally for their grain. 
These so-called silage varieties do not produce as large a propor- 
tion of ears to stalk and leaves, and in many cases the per cent 
of water is higher, thus requiring the handling and storing of more 
tons of silage for an equal amount of dry matter and of food 
value. When silage is put up too green its keeping quality and 

1 Southern variety. 

2 I'enn. Rpt. 1891, p. 30. 

3 Cornell Bui. 4, p. 51. 

4 Ont. Agr. Col. and Expt. Farms Kjit. 1S97, p. 83. 



184 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

food value are lessened. (353) For silage, it is generally de- 
sirable to plant a variety which will develop a normal proportion 
of ears and that will get as mature as it is possible for maize to 
be when put in the silo. (349) 

250. Comparative Yield of Dent and Flint Maize. — Almost all 
of the field maize of the United States, comparatively speaking, 
is of the dent type. Flint maize requires a smaller number of 
days to mature a crop ; hence it is used in the more northern 
latitudes and at higher altitudes. It is the common field crop 
of New England. Each of these types has its place, but wher- 
ever the common varieties of dent maize will ripen flint maize 
usually is not desirable. For example, at the Pennsylvania 
Station eleven varieties of flint maize and fifteen varieties of 
dent maize have been tested from one to three years. The 
altitude is 1,200 feet; the season, therefore, is comparatively 
cool and short, and not especially adapted to the growth of dent 
varieties. The following table gives the yield of dry matter in 
pounds from ears and stover : 

Flint Dent 

Ears . . . 1,750 3,012 

Stover . . . 1,691 3,258 

Total . . 3,441 6,270 



XI. 

MAIZE. 

IMPROVEMENT OF VARIETIES. 

251. Pollination. — Maize is said to be wind-fertilized, since 
the extremely abundant pollen is carried long distances, by the 
wind and often deposited upon silks of ears quite remote from 
the tassel bearing the pollen. Notwithstanding the large amount 
of observation and experiment, the extent to which maize is 
cross-fertilized and to what extent it is self-fertilized in actual 
practice has not been clearly established. It is believed by 
many, however, that since the pollen appears to develop slightly 
in advance of the silks of the same plant, and since the tendency 
of the currents of air would be to carry the pollen away from 
the plant producing it, that cross-fertilization is the rule and 
self-fertilization the exception. It has been clearly established, 
however, that both cross-fertilization and self-fertilization can 
readily be effected. Artificial or hand pollination usually does 
not produce as good results as when pollination takes place in 
the natural way. 

The ovules are fertilized in order of sequence from butt to 
tip. Since the tip grains develop last, the tip of the ear is the 
most variable, due to variations in soil, cultural or seasonal 
conditions. It is probable that the filling out at the tip of the 
ear should be looked upon as the result of environment more 
than as an hereditary or variety characteristic. (243) 

252. Influence of Current Cross. — The influence of pollen 
upon the grain or fruit which immediately develops, called xenia, 
has received considerable study especially in maize. That the 
character of the male pollen may affect the endosperm of the 



i86 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



fertilized ovule is certain. When sweet maize is crossed with 
dent pollen, the resulting grains have the appearance of flint 
grains, being neither dented nor wrinkled, and have the taste of 
dent maize. Sweet maize shows the influence of the current 




Black Mexican sweet-white dent cross. Ear I is Black Mexican sweet maize which v/as 
used as the male parent. Ear 2 is a white dent variety used as the female parent. Ear 
3 shows the Intermediate result of the cross, grains from which were planted to produce 
ears 4 and 5. Ear 4 was from the wrinkled or sweet grain of ear 3. Ear 5 was grown 
from the dent grains of ear 3 (after McCluer). 

cross when pollinated by dent maize with such certainty that 
grains which do not show the effect may be depended upon to 
produce a pure product the next year.^ When sweet maize is 



1 R. I. Rpt. 1901, pp. 227-244. 



IMPROVEMENT OF MAIZE 187 

the male and dent maize the female parent. McCliier^ has 
shown both sweet and dent grain in the current cross, and that 
the dent grain when grown would show sweet characters. There 
is a strong tendency for color, where it is a character of the 
endosperm, to show in the current cross. 

Webber has shown that the aleurone layer may be affected 
by the current cross, Cuzco, a soft variety, with heliotrope- 
purple color in the aleurone layer, was crossed upon several 
varieties of dent maize, and grain resulting from such fertilization 
contained the same or similar color in the aleurone layer.^ The 
immediate effect of pollen upon the color when the color is in 
the seed coat, as in calico maize, is denied by some, and the 
observed instances have been explained by assuming that the 
seed of the female parent was impure. 

253. Degree of Close Breeding. — There may be several degrees 
of closeness in breeding maize : (i) Between pollen and ovules of 
the same plant; (2) between pollen and ovules of plants grown 
from seed from the same ear ; (3) between pollen and ovules 
of plants grown from seed from different plants of the same 
variety. The closeness of relationship of the plants furnishing 
the seed may vary between very wide limits. They may have 
had a common ancestor but one generation back, or they may 
have been unrelated in one or both ancestors for many genera- 
tions ; (4) between pollen and ovules of plants grown from seed 
of different varieties ; (5) between pollen and ovules of plants 
grown from seed of different types. 

254. Close Breeding. — Since cross-fertilization appears to be 
the rule in maize, it is generally considered desirable to avoid 
any practice which would induce close-fertilization. (106) Hop- 
kins states that he has secured data pointing toward an injurious 
effect of close-pollination and recommends cross-pollination in 

1 111. Bui. 21, p. 87. 

2 Xenia, or the immediate effect of pollen in maize. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. 
Veg. Phys. and Path. (1900) Bui. 22. 



Hi 



1 88 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

seed maize breeding by detasseling alternate rows.^ Webber 
reports several instances of the injurious effect of inbreeding 
maize with pollen from the same plant, of which the following 
is an example : One hundred stalks of Hickory King grown 
from seed inbred with pollen from the same stalk yielded forty- 
six ears weighing nine and three-tenths pounds, while seed of 
the same race produced by crossing different- seedlings yielded 
from the same number of stalks eight}^-two ears weighing twenty- 
seven and a half pounds. In another instance hybrids of the 
second generation, where seed was inbred, showed great loss of 
vigor, being small in structure and almost sterile.^ McCluer^ 
found that plants grown from self-fertilized seed, besides pro- 
ducing smaller ears, produced a greater proportion of barren 

stalks and were subject to nvmierous deformities. 

'> 

255. Detasseling. — Detasseling alternate rows of maize has 
been tried as a means of increasing the yield of grain, on the 
theory that plant food that goes to maturing the tassel and the 
production of pollen may be diverted to the grain. Ten stations 
have published results as shown in table on opposite page.* 

In one instance the Cornell Station found an increase of fifty 
per cent in the detasseled rows, but ordinarily the increases and 
decreases found have fallen within twenty per cent. It should 
be noted that these percentages apply to only half the field. 
While the evidence is not entirely clear, the inference of experi- 
ments so far reported seems to be that increase from detasseling 
is most likely to occur on poor soil or in dry seasons. In dis- 
cussing these results the Cornell Station says : 

" The tassels were removed by hand by pulling them out as soon as they 
appeared. This operation was performed quite rapidly as comparatively little force 
was necessary to cause the stalk to break just above the upper joint and without 

1 111. Bui. 82 (1902), pp. 535-536. 

2 Science, N. S., Vol. XIII, No. 320 (1901), pp. 257-258. 

3 111. Bui. 21, p. 96. 

< Ohio Rpt. 1S97, p. 64. 



IMPROVEMENT OF MAIZE 



189 



any injury to the leaves whatever, if done before the tassels had become fully ex- 
panded. From the experiments in defcisseling made at the station it is thought to 
be of prime importance to completely remove the tassel before it has expanded and 
commenced to shed pollen. As the tassel at this time is partially protected witliin 
the folds of the leaves, it can only be completely removed by grasping the top of the 
tassel and giving it an upward pull which causes it to break off as described above. 
Experiments in detasseling have been made at other experiment stations where the 
practice has been to remove the tassels by cutting them off with a corn knife which 
would either cause an injury to the leaves or a delay until the tassels had become 
fully expanded and had shed pollen, as some tassels will shed pollen while yet 
partially protected within the folds of the leaves. In either case a benefit ought 
not to be expected from the practice. Our experiments show that the object of 
removing the tassels is not accomplished if they are allowed to remain until fully 
expanded and become polleniferous." l 

Summary of Results Obtained in Detasseling Maize. 











Total num- 
ber of tests 


Effect 


station 


Crop in- 
creased 


No effect 


Crop de- 
creased 


Cornell Unive 

Delaware 

Georgia . 

Illinois . 

Kansas . 

Maryland 

Nebraska 

Ohio 

South Caroline 

Utah . 


rsity 
I 






4 
2 

I 
3 
3 
I 
2 
2 
I 
2 


3 
2 

I 


I 

I 

I 
I 

I 


I 
I 
I 
2 

I 

2 


Totals .... 


21 


S 


5 


8 



In one trial the Illinois Station ^ found an increase of twenty- 
seven per cent when tassels were pulled out and six per cent 
when cut out; — an increase of fifteen per cent when removed 
before tassels were expanded and eleven per cent when removed 
after tassels were expanded. 

1 Cornell Bui. 61 (1893), p. 312. 

2 111. Bui. 37, p. 22. 



190 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

256. Crossing. — What influence the crossing which the detas- 
seling of alternate rows of maize compels has upon the subsequent 
progeny is not shown in the experiments just related, since to 
determine this it is necessary to grow the seeds thus crossed. 

The Illinois Station 1 crossed a number of varieties in 1892, grew the cross-bred 
varieties in 1893 and again in 1894, comparing the yield with the average yield of 
the two parent varieties. In 1894, in four out of six cases, the yield was greatest 
for the cross, the average increase being twelve bushels per acre. In 1893 three out of 
four gave the largest yields for the cross, the average increase being two and three- 
tenths bushels per acre; and in 1892 five crosses gave in every case a larger yield 
than an average of the parent varieties, the average increase being nine and a half 
bushels per acre. The conditions under which it was necessary to conduct these 
experiments made the results inconclusive. 

When McCluer^ raised crosses from different types of maize, 
the progeny from the full cross was in nearly all cases increased 
in size as a result of the crossing. In nearly all cases this in- 
crease in size was not marked the second year, although yet 
larger than the average of the parent varieties. This may have 
been due to a tendency to revert to the character of the original 
ancestor or may have been due to each plat being grown from 
a single ear, thus bringing about at once inbreeding. 

257. Disposition to Maintain Types and Varieties. — When 
sweet maize is crossed with a dent variety the grains of the 
current cross on the ear may all assume a smooth rounded 
appearance not unlike a flint variety. The plants that grow from 
these grains will produce ears which will have some grains of 
the dent type and some of the sweet type, thus showing a ten- 
dency to split up into the separate types and to prevent the 
production of an intermediate type. The same tendency is 
somewhat apparent, although less noticeable, in crosses between 
varieties of the same type. While the readiness with which 
maize cross-fertilizes tends to obliterate varieties, this tendency 
opposes it. (278) 

1 111. Bui. 37, p. 20. 

2 111. Bui. 21, pp. 95-96. 



IMPROVEMENT OF MAIZE I9I 

258. Breeding for Composition. — Hopkins found that when 
analyses were made of different samples coming from a consid- 
erable number of ears that the composition of the grain was 
quite uniform. When, however, samples were taken separately, 
even from diiTerent ears of the same variety, there were consid- 
erable differences in the composition. Some variation was found 
in the composition of grains from the butt, middle and tip third 
of the ear, but when one or more rows were taken throughout 
the whole length of the ear the composition of this sample was 
found quite accurately to represent the whole ear. He further 
established the fact that if the grains of ears varying in com- 
position were grown separately, this difference in composition 
would be found in the resulting crop. It was thus established 
that composition was hereditary. He also showed that the com- 
position would be determined in considerable measure by the 
physical distribution of the parts of the grain. 

259. Breeding for Fat. — As thirty-five per cent of the embryo 
is fat and as eighty to eighty-five per cent of all the fat of the 
grain is in the embryo, it is evident that grain with large 
embryos would contain larger percentages of fat than those 
containing small embryos, unless the per cent of fat in the 
embryo itself varied largely.^ 

Beginning with the same variety of maize, ears were selected 
four years for high fat and low fat content. Then rows were 
planted with both kinds of maize, every hill having each kind 
of maize just far enough apart to identify the stalks. Thus 
they were grown in the same season, in the same soil and 
under the same cultivation. The resulting crop from maize 
selected for low fat content contained three and eight-tenths 
per cent of fat; that for high fat, five and eight-tenths per cent 
of fat.^ In other instances there have been brought about 

1 The investigations of Hopkins appear to show that large embryos contain a 
larger percentage of fat than small embryos. 111. Bui. 87, p. 105. 
2 111. Bui. 87, p. 100. 



192 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



variations in content of fat ranging from two and a half to 
seven per cent. 

260. Breeding for Protein. — The relative proportion of glossy 
and white endosperm varies largely in the grains of different 
ears of the same variety of maize. In an average ear of Burr's 
white (dent variety) ten and two-tenths per cent of protein was 
found in the glossy endosperm and seven and eight-tenths per 
cent in the white endosperm. (226) Hopkins finds forty-two 
per cent of all the protein of the grain in the endosperm, and, 
also, holds that the aleurone layer, which also has a high per 
cent of protein, is larger in maize selected for high protein 
content. As the ratio of glossy to white endosperm is readily 
estimated by making selections of a few grains from each ear, 
assuming the above propositions estab- 
lished, maize may be bred for high or 
for low protein content. By this method, 
maize has been bred which contains 
but six and seven-tenths per cent of 
protein and as high as fourteen and 
four-tenths per cent. 

Since the embryos contain a higher per cent of 
protein than the glossy endosperm and about the 
same percentage as the aleurone layer, it has been 
suggested that the variations in the per cent of pro- 
tein were largely due to variations in the size of the 
embryos. Hopkins, however, has gone into a rather 
elaborate investigation to show that variations 
in the percentage of protein are due primarily to 
variations in the glossy endosperm and the aleurone 
layer and only secondarily to the variations in the 
embryo. 1 

261. Breeding for Starch. — In order 
to breed for high starch content, we 
have only to breed for low protein and low oil content, as, 
practically speaking, the percentage of carbohydrates (principally 




The grains on the left contain 
the higher percentage of pro- 
tein indicated by the higher 
proportion of glossy or corne- 
ous endosperm as compared 
with the white or soft endo- 
sperm, and, also, possibly, by 
the larger embryo. (After 
Hopkins.) 



1 111. Bui, 87, pp. 96-101. 



IMPROVEMENT OF MAIZE I93 

starch) is usually inversely proportional to that of the protein 
and fat. If maize were bred for the manufacture of starch or 
glucose, only low protein content would be desired, since the 
fat or maize oil, which is a by-product of the manufacture of 
starch, is worth more per pound than the starch. 

262. Advantage of Breeding for Composition. — Throughout 
the North Central and Eastern States, and especially in those 
States which raise a great surplus of maize, stock foods gener- 
ally contain too small a proportion of digestible protein. The 
protein is, therefore, the most expensive ingredient of stock 
foods, being several times more expensive per pound than maize 
itself. The raising of maize with a higher percentage of protein 
would reduce the need of purchasing more expensive nitrogenous 
foods, and would thus cheapen the food supply, provided the 
yield of maize is not reduced as the per cent of protein is 
increased. In the Southern States, the food supply for live 
stock is highly nitrogenous, due to large surplus of cotton seed, 
cottonseed meal and cowpeas. In this section, a high starch 
content may be desirable. Large quantities of maize are an- 
nually used for the manufacture of starch and glucose. The 
Glucose Sugar Refining Company ^ says : 

"A bushel of ordinary corn, weighing 56 pounds, contains about 4 1-2 pounds 
of germ, 36 pounds of dry starch, 7 pounds of gluten and 5 pounds of bran or hull, 
the balance in weight being made up of water, soluble matter, etc. The value of 
the germ lies in the fact that it contains over 40 per cent of com oil, worth, say, 5 
cents per pound, while the starch is worth i 1-2 cents, the gluten i cent and the 
hull about 1-2 cent per pound. 

" It can readily be seen that a variety of corn containing, say, one pound more 
oil per bushel would be in large demand." 

263. Disadvantage of Breeding for Composition. — One disad- 
vantage of breeding for composition and yield at the same time 
is that breeding for two characteristics at one time is several 
times more difficult than breeding for one. An objection to 
breeding for high protein is that the amount of nitrogen re- 

1 111. Bui. 82 (1902), p. 526. 



m\ 



194 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



moved from the soil will be increased, unless the yield of 
maize is decreased. No results have been reported of the influ- 
ence upon yield of breeding for high protein or other modifica- 
tions in composition. Whether it is better to raise the surplus 
nitrogen needed in leguminous crops like clover, alfalfa, soy 
beans, cowpeas, field peas, etc., and to raise maize primarily as 
a source of easily digestible carbohydrates, will need to be settled 
by each grower in accordance with local conditions, assuming 
that composition has no influence upon yield. 

264. Methods of Breeding. — Breeding for composition has 
served to call attention to the method of testing hereditary 
power, whether the character to be tested was high protein, 
fat or yield. 

After several eats of maize have been selected for high pro- 
tein, it becomes necessary to determine whether they will repro- 
duce ears with high protein, and also to place the plants produced 
from such selected ears where they will be fertilized by pollen 
from plants having high protein content. If this is an advantage 
in the case of ears selected for high protein, it is also an advan- 
tage for ears selected for high yield. Large ears may be the 
result of environment or may be due to hereditary power. Of 
two ears of equal merit (as, for example, size), one grown on 
very rich soil and the other on ordinary soil, the latter should 
be preferred for seed. 

265. The Breeding Plat. — Assuming total yield of grain to be 
the character bred for, the following is an outline of plan to be 
followed in the breeding plat, the details to be modified accord- 
ing to circumstances : 

(i) First carefully consider the variety of maize best suited 
to conditions. Do not waste time improving a poor variety or 
strain. Having selected the variety, it will generally be wise to 
grow no other. 

(2) Select 100 ears of perfect vitality of this variety. Weigh 
each ear separately and arrange in order of weight. 



IMPROVEMENT OF MAIZE 



195 



(3) From these 100 ears select forty nearest the ideal 
sought, giving due importance to weight of ear, but not neglect- 
ing other qualities. 

(4) Next shell each ear separately, weigh cobs and determine 
total weight and per cent of shelled grain to ear. The total 
weight of grain is more important than the per cent. There is 
no necessary relation between 
per cent of grain to ear and 
yield. Large cobs may, how- 
ever, be objectionable for other 
reasons, as, for example, their 
influence upon maturity and 
preservation of the ear. With 
the information obtained, select 
twenty-five out of the forty ears 
and number ears i to 25, mak- 
ing the best ear No. 13, the 
next best ears 12 and 14 and 
the poorest ears i and 25. 

(s) Lay off a piece of uni- 
form land fifty hills square and 
plant rows i and 26 to ear i ; 
rows 2 and 27 to ear 2, until 
ear 25 is planted on rows 25 
and 50. Place five grains in 
each hill, and when plants are 
three to four inches high, thin 
so that each row has 150 plants. If this plat of maize is planted 
by itself, four rows should be planted clear around the plat from 
what is left of the twenty-five selected ears. In many cases the 
most practical way will be to plant the plat in the body of a field 
containing the ordinary crop, which will be the same variety. 
The breeding plat should not be within twenty rods of neighbor- 
ing maize fields, especially if the variety is different. 























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Diagram showing the influence of heredity and 
environment upon yield of maize. Curves 
show yield per row in pounds of field cured 
grain of fifty rows grown from twenty-five 
different ears of the same variety. Rows 
No. I and No. 26 grown from seed of ear 
No. I ; rows No. 2 and No. 27 from ear No. 
2, etc. The rows were each fifty hills long, 
and each hill, with very few exceptions, had 
exactly three stalks per hill. Grown in Fay- 
ette county, Ohio, by L. H. Goddard. 



I 



ig6 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA ■ 

(6) When properly matured, husk and weigh the ears from 
each row separately under exactly uniform conditions. If the 
progeny of a certain ear yields more maize than does either row 
from another ear, it may be assumed that the former has the 
superior hereditary force and that the greater yield was not the 
result of environment, as, for example, better soil. 

(7) For next year's breeding plat, select twenty-five ears from 
the progeny of a few of the best ears, say the best five ears. 
It would probably not be safe to select all the ears from the 
progeny of the best ear, as that would lead to very close breed- 
ing. It will also be desirable to arrange for as much crossing 
as possible between ears of unlike parentage. Select the best 
of what is left from the breeding plat for the field crop. The 
breeding plat is to be continued indefinitely. 

266. Field Selection. — The usual method of obtaining seed is 
to select ears from the regular field crop. There are three methods : 

(i) Selection of ears from the crib. 

(2) Selection of ears at the time of husking. 

(3) Selection of ears by passing through the field before 
husking and while plants are still standing in the field. 

The reason for employing the second method over the first is 
that the seed may be dried before low temperature has an oppor- 
tunity to injure or destroy the vitality. The advantage of the 
third method over the first is that it gives opportunity to obser\'e 
the character of stalk and leaves when selection is made. The 
advantage of the second method is that it gives a wider range of 
selection and makes more certain the finding of the best ears, 
since every ear is handled. 

267. Field Seed and Breeding Plat Seed Compared. — The ad- 
vantage of the breeding plat method of securing seed is that it 
permits the selection of seed that has shown its ability to produce 
the highest yield or the highest per cent of protein, as the case 
may be, under substantially similar environment. Under field 
selection it is not so certain that size of ear was not the result 



GERMINATION OF MAIZE 



197 



of environment, and the ability of a strain to produce occasional 
large ears is not necessary proof of large average yield. Un- 
doubtedly, however, field selection has great merit, since it 
enables the selection of the finest ears of the character desired. 
The disadvantage of the breeding plat is that it limits the range 
of selection to perhaps an acre of maize, while in field selection 
twenty, forty or even 100 or more acres may be available from 
which to make selections. The importance of this wider selec- 
tion will depend upon the extent to which the finest ears under 
ordinary field culture are due to the environment and to what 
extent they are hereditary variations. This has not yet been 
satisfactorily proven. Another possible disadvantage of the 
breeding plat is that it leads to close breeding. (254) 

268. Vitality of Seed. — Owing to the time of maturity, the 
vitality of seed is often injured by freezing before the grain is 
thoroughly dry. It is the water that 
freezes and thereby destroys the tis- 
sue. The vitality may be preserved 
in t\vo ways : first, by thorough dry- 
ing; second, by not subjecting to a 
low temperature. If the grain is dried 
thoroughly, low temperature will not 
injure it. The first method is usually 
the most feasible. In southern lati- 
tudes this may be accomplished by 
storing in narrow cribs, but in more 
northern latitudes hanging in an airy 
place sufficiently protected from cold 
to cause thorough diying before severe 
weather begins, or diying by means 
of artificial heat, is desirable. The latter method is now being 
practiced by some who make a specialty of raising seed maize, 

269. Importance of Testing Vitality of Seed. — It is very im- 
portant, not only that seed should grow, but that it should grow 




Room for drying maize for seed 
by artificial heat. 



198 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

vigorously. The vitality may be injured and the seed still 
sprout. The less the percentage of seed sprouting, the less the 
vital power. The Illinois Station found in the case of sweet 
maize that when ninety-five per cent of the seed grew in the 
greenhouse, but seventy-five per cent of the seed which grew in 
the greenhouse grew in the field ; while where fifty-two per cent 
grew in the greenhouse test, only fifty-five per cent of those 
which grew in the greenhouse grew in the field. A perfect stand 
of vigorous seedlings is an important element in successful cul- 
ture of maize. (303) The New York State Station' reports: 

" While in germination, in one trial, the vitality as expressed in per cents was 
precisely the same as between two lots of 500 seeds each, the one corn from the crib 
and the other thoroughly dried over a radiator, viz., 94 per cent, yet when the same 
corn was planted in the earth the difference became very marked, the corn from the 
crib giving but 20 per cent vegetation and the same corn kiln-dried giving 80 per 
cent vegetation. The difference was even more marked in the growth, ^he corn 
from the crib attaining a height of only three inches, while that from the kiln-dried 
seed had reached the height of five inches in the same time." 

270. Germination. — Sturtevant has shown that the diiferent 
types of maize would germinate at a temperature of 41° to 
43.7° F. in from ten to twenty days. When the temperature 
varied from 48.5° to 58.5° F., from five to nine days were required 
for germination. At these temperatures sweet maize required 
somewhat longer time to germinate than the other types.^ Sachs 
and Ward give the highest temperature at which maize will 
germinate, 115° F., and 91° to 93° F. as the temperature at which 
germination is most rapid. 

271. Treatment of Seed. — There are four purposes for which 
seeds have been treated with chemicals; viz., (1) to hasten ger- 
mination ; (2) to protect the seed from insects and other animal 
pests ; (3) to prevent the attack of fungi, and (4) to furnish plant 
food. The evidence as to the influence of chemicals in all of 
these directions as relates to maize seed is more or less conflict- 

1 N. Y. Rpt. 1886, p. 40. 

2 Bui. Torr. Bot. Club Vol. XXI, No. 8, p. 234. 



GERMINATION OF MAIZE 



199 




Ho me made germinating apparatus 1 consists 
of a shallow tin basin, which is given two 
coats of mineral paint to prevent rusting. 
The bottom of the basin is covered with 
water and a small flat-bottomed saucer of 
porous clay Is placed inside. Seeds are 
placed between two layers of moist blot- 
ting paper or flannel cloth. A, complete; 
B, section. (After Hicks.) 



ing, but in practice it is not generally desirable to treat the seed 
in any way. 

272. Method of Testing Seed, — If the plumule and radicle of 

the enibr}'o are carefully exposed by means of a sharp knife, 

these parts will be white and 

plump. Any discoloration or 

wilting is evidence of injured 

vitality. To determine vitality 

definitely, seed should always 

be tested before using. This 

may be done by any method 

which furnishes proper condi- 
tions of heat, moisture and air. 

A satisfactory method is to fill 

any receptacle similar in size 

and shape to a dinner plate 

with sand. Pour on water until 

it covers the surface of the sand. Gently drain off water. 

Place grains in the moist sand, thoroughly covering them, and 

cov^er receptacle by inverting a simi- 
lar one over it to prevent too rapid 
evaporation and place in a tempera- 
ture of 80° F. If ninety-five per 
cent of the seed fails to germinate 
in five days, the seed is unsatisfac- 
tory. If shelled grain is to be tested, 

Cigar box used for testing germina- take lOO graiuS after thorOUgh mix- 
tion of maize. Grains may be placed j,-,™ jf ears are to bc tcstcd, take 

between moistened newspapers or . r r 

cloths, preferably flannel. (After three graUlS frOm Cach of tWCUty-fivC 

^^°'^^") to fifty ears, taking a grain from 

butt, middle and tip. In some cases it may be desirable to test 
each ear separately by taking ten grains from each ear. In 
no case should an ear be used in which nine out of the ten 
grains failed to germinate under conditions named. 




THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



273. Seed from Different Parts of the Ear. — Grains on an 
ear equally represent inherent qualities of the plant which pro- 
duced them. They should, under favorable conditions, produce 
plants having similar characteristics. The butt grains being 
larger and the tip grains smaller, differences in the food supply 
exist which it was thought might modify the ability of the seed 
to survive unfavorable conditions or cause variation in the vigor 
with which the young plant was started upon an independent 
existence. It has also been suggested that the grains on the 
middle of the ear are more likely to be fertilized with pollen 
from the same plant and that this closer breeding might tend to 
decrease the yield from plants grown from such grains. In no 
case have any considerable differences in yield been obtained 
from using grain's from different parts of the ear. The results 
given below seem clearly to demonstrate that there is no advan- 
tage in planting grains from any special portion of the ear, pro- 
vided equal stands are obtained. 



Average Yield per Acre of Seed from Different Parts of Ear — 

Bushels. 



Station 


Bui. 


No. yrs. 


Butt 


Middle 


Tip 


Alabama 


Ill 


3 


15.4 


16.3 


16.8 


Arkansas 


22 


I 


34-2 


30.8 


30.6 


Georgia 


34 


I 


26.9 


26.2 


27.4 


Kansas 


64 


5 


397 


38.5 


39-0 


New York State . 


Rpt. '85 


4 


56.6 


57.6 


58.6 


Ohio . 


78 


9 


58.9 


59-3 


58.7 



The Kansas Station found that under field conditions eighty- 
six per cent of the butt grains, ninety per cent of the middle 
grains and seventy per cent of the tip grains produced plants.^ 
The Iowa Station ^ found that when all the grains of an ear 

1 Kan. Bui. 64, p. 238. 

2 Iowa Bui. 68, p. 278. 



IMPROVEMENT OF MAIZE 20I 

were used in the corn planter, the number of grains dropped at 
one time varied from one to six grains, the planter dropping 
three grains to the hill sixty-six times out of a hundred. When 
only the middle grains of the ear were used, the planter dropped 
two grains eight times and three grains ninety-two times to each 
hundred hills. Since unifomiity of stand is essential to maxi- 
mum yield, it is therefore good practice to 'discard the largest of 
:he butt and the smallest of the tip grains. It is also found 
that in order to secure uniformity of stand it is essential to select 
ears having grains of uniform size. It was found that when 
long and short grains were mixed together, the planter dropped 
three grains seventy-five times out of one hundred; while when 
planted separately with proper plates for each, the planter dropped 
three short grains ninety-five times out of one hundred and 
three long grains ninety-two times out of one hundred. 



XII. 

MAIZE. 



I. CLIMATE. 



274. Limited Distribution. — That there is a wide difference 
in distribution of maize as compared with other cereals is shown 
in the following table giving average production in million 
bushels by continents for five years, 1898-1902 inclusive: 





Maize 


Wheat 


Rye 


Oats 


Barley 


North America . 


2,149 


717 


25 


944 


124 


South America . 


86 


96 








Europe . 


471 


1,580 


1,470 


2,103 


788 


Asia 




382 


59 


52 


5° 


Africa . 


32 


45 




7 


48 


Australasia . 


9 


48 




25 


3 


Total 


2,747 


2,868 


1,554 


3.131 


1,013 



The fact that sixty-six per cent of all the maize raised in the 
United States is grown in seven maize surplus States — Ohio, 
Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas — is a 
further indication of its limited distribution. It is this limited 
distribution, coupled with the fact that maize will produce about 
twice the food nutrients of any of our other cereals per acre, 
that makes lands especially adapted to the culture of maize 
command relatively high prices. 

275. Causes Limiting Distribution. — Among the causes limit- 
ing successful cultivation are temperature and sunshine, rainfall 
and physiographical features, including soil. It is only when 
these several factors are properly combined that the culture of 



CLIMATE FOR MAIZE 



203 



maize becomes commercially successful. The absence of any 
one may limit successful production. If, for example, the area 
between the 70° and 80° July isotherm be followed around the 
world in the northern latitude, it will be found that throughout 
the larger part of its course the rainfall is insufficient at those 
times of the year when it is most needed by the maize plant ; 






268 IN- 




WE5TERN ENGLAND 37.1 IN- 



I....1II1I 






TUSCOLA 



35-9 IN- 




MIDDLE GERMANY 22.2 IN 
4-IN. 



2IN. _ ■ 


1 


■ ■ 


TTl 




mi 



< oj 5 Q- 5 D D 31^ y 2 y 



COLUMBUS sa.Q IN. 




SOUTHEAST FfUSaA 15.4 IN. 



Variation in amount and distribution of normal monthly rainfail, see nnap (276). For 
May, June, July and August, total normal rainfall is: Lincoln, Nebraska, I 5.7 inches ; 
Tuscora, tllinois, I 4.4 inches; Columbus, Ohio, I 3.2 inches; Western England, I 0.7 
inches I Midcle Germany, 8.6 inches; Southeast Russia, 7.2 inches.l The great 
maize belt lies between the longitudes of Columbus, Ohio (83° 0' W. Long.), and 
Lincoln, Nebraska (96° 45' W. Long.). 

or, where the rainfall is sufficient, physiographical features pre- 
vent the culture of maize on a large scale. 

The so-called "corn belt" of the United States appears to 
have the best combination of temperature, sunshine, rainfall, 
soil and topography for the production of maize of any consid- 
erable area in the world. 



I Rainfalls for lincoln, Tuscola and Columbus are from twenty-five-year 
averages of the United States Weather Bureau. The European figures are from 
Davis' Elementary Meteorology. 



204 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 




276. Influence of Temperature. — It is the temperature during 
the maize growing months of May to September inclusive, 
rather than the average annual temperature, that influences the 
production of maize. It is not only the temperature of air and 
soil as expressed by the thermometer, but also the sunshine, the 
influence of which is not fully expressed by thermometric read- 
ings. Brewer^ has shown that fifty-five per cent of the maize 
crop of 1879 in the United States was grown between July 

isotherms 75° and 
80° F. and thirty- 
three per cent be- 
tween 70° and 75° 
F., making a total 
of eighty-eight per 
cent between July 

Map showing area In Northern Hemisphere between July iso- ISOthcrmS 70° F. 
therms, 70° and 80° F., indicating suitable temperature for , o o ■r' 
the production of maize. Note rainfall in chart (27 5). 

It is difficult to 
give precise limits to an influence which is one of several abso- 
lutely necessary. Beale^ has compared the yield of maize with 
the temperature in each of the nine leading maize producing 
States, viz., Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, Iowa, 
Missouri, Nebraska and Kansas, during the five months May 
to September inclusive for sixteen years. No relation in these 
favored States could be traced between yield per acre and 
temperature. 

Temperature is well known to influence maturity and may 
thus, indirectly at least, affect yield of merchantable grain, 
especially in regions near the northern limit of successful cul- 
ture. The New York State Station ® compares the soil temper- 
ature with yield in crops of different maturity, as follows : 



1 Tenth Census U. S., Vol. Agr. 

2 H. G. Beale: Thesis, B. S. Degree, Ohio State University, 1902. 

3 N. Y. Rpt. (Geneva) 1886, p. 39. 



CLIMATE FOR MAIZE 



205 



Influence of Temperature Upon Maturity of Maize. 





Year 


Mean soil 
tempera- 
ture, de- 
grees F. 


Mean 
max. soil 
temp., de- 
grees F. 


Rainfall 




Maturity 


June- 
August 


Sept.- 
Oct. 


Yield, bu. 


Well ripened 


1S84 


71.4 


81.5 


8.14 


3-34 


63.8 


Fairly ripe . 


1882 


67.8 


80.1 


8.91 


1.83 


50.2 


Rather moist but safe 














binned 


1883 


63-5 


76.1 


13-53 


4.64 


58.6 


Very moist, moulding 














in bin 


1885 


67.5 


737 


14.67 


4.54 


58.8 



277. Influence of Climate Upon Habit of Growth. — There is 
greater variation in the habit of growth of the maize plant than 
in any other cereal. These variations within any one of the five 
types of maize seem to be correlated with the climatic condi- 
tions as indicated by the great variation in size and in the time 
of maturity in northern as compared with southern latitudes. 

The growing season for maize varies in different sections of 
the United States from ninety to 160 days and varieties exist 
which are adapted to these different growing periods. In gen- 
eral it may be said that as we go north or south of a given lati- 
tude a variety becomes one day later or earlier for each ten miles 
of travel, the altitude remaining the same. That is to say, a 
variety which ripens two weeks before a killing frost in a" given 
locality would only barely ripen if taken 140 miles farther north, 
the altitude remaining the same. Care should be taken, there- 
fore, in selecting new varieties, to get them from the same latitude. 
If obtained from much farther north they may ripen too early 
and consequently be too small. If obtained much farther south, 
they may not ripen. 

Size and period of growth are also influenced by moisture. 
Under conditions of favorable water supply, the plant continues 
to grow, while a deficiency will reduce growth and hasten ripening. 

278. Influence of Climate Upon Varieties. — Whether the environ- 
ment was a cause of variation or whether selection, it is probable 



'll 



206 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

that there is a relation between climate and existing varieties 
of maize. The time that it has taken to fix these types is, how- 
ever, a matter of much difference of opinion and about which 
the evidence is obscure. The variations as to size and maturity 
existed when this country was discovered. It is a common 
observation that the varieties of a given region tend to assume 
a common type. When dent varieties are introduced in a region 
growing flint varieties, or the reverse, the introduced variety 
tends to take on the characters of the other type. This has 
been attributed to climatic influences, but may be explained 
upon the grounds of crossing and unconscious selection. The 
current cross would not, ordinarily, show in the seed, but would 
show in the resulting crop. Varieties sufficiently distinct to 
escape cross-pollination have been grown continuously without 
modification.* 

The author had a standard variety of maize grown about 1 20 
miles north of the Illinois Station for three years. The first 
season it barely ripened in its new location. The ripest ears 
were selected for seed, and in subsequent years it was believed 
by the grower to have ripened earlier. After three years seed 
was returned to the Illinois Station and on the fourth year 
grown beside seed continuously grown at the station. When 
thvis grown side by side there was no difference in the time of 
ripening. The evidence concerning the influence of climate 
upon varieties is not as clear as might be desired, but it is 
probable that much that has been ascribed to climate has been 
due "to selection. 

279. Influence of Climate Upon Composition. — Analyses so far 
reported do not indicate any material difference in composition 
in maize grown in different sections of the country covering a 
wide variation in soil and climate. An average of thirty-five 
northern and forty-nine southern grown samples of dent maize 
has shown the following composition : 

1 Cf. Bui. Torr. Bot. Club Vol. XXI (1894), No. 12, p. 521. 



CLIMATE FOR MAIZE 



207 





Northern 


Southern 


Ash 


• 1-7 


1-7 


Protein (N x 6.25) 


. 11.8 


"5 


Fiber 


• 2-3 


2.3 


Nitrogen-free extract . 


• 79-1 


78.7 


Fat 


• S-i 


5-7 



280. Need of Water. — At the Illinois Station, from eighteen 
varieties of maize on eighteen tenth-acre plats, the author 
obtained thirty-two bushels of dry shelled grain per acre. The 
next season, with the same varieties on the same plats, with 
cultural methods as nearly identical as possible, and without the 
addition of any fertilizer, ninety-four bushels per acre were 
obtained. During the first season, the rainfall for the five grow- 
ing months (May to September) was thirteen inches ; during the 
second, twenty-two and a half inches. During the same period 
the average temperature for the first season was 73° F. ; the 
second, 69° F. (276) 

The amount of water evaporated from the maize plant and 
the surrounding soil has been determined by King * to be in 
Wisconsin 270 pounds for each pound of dry matter grown, 
equivalent to a rainfall of 2.4 inches for each ton. This is only 
about half that required by oats and clover. Maize is, however, 
very greatly influenced by the water supply in July and August, 
since during that time the period of growth is very rapid. The 
author has determined the growth of maize in one week in July 
in Illinois to be equal to 1,300 pounds of dry matter per acre, 
which would require, according to the experiments of King, 
1.5 inches of rainfall. (350) At such times, unless the physi- 
cal conditions of the soil are the best, the plant is apt to suffer 
from a lack of water, or, in other words, from drouth. 

281. Influence of Rainfall. — Everything points to the impor- 
tance of water in the successful culture of maize. Beale has 



1 King: Physics of Agriculture, p. 139. 



208 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 





j, 


-^t^v- -, 


^% ^ 4 


^\ 7 \ ^ 


A^-^^ri 




^^'' vi 


f ' -nT ^ 


Xt 


%Jll 


At 


' 1 


J 



shown that while no relation could be traced between tempera- 
ture and yield of maize, a very direct relationship could be 
traced between rainfall and yield. The yield did not depend 
merely upon the total rainfall for the five growing months of 
I p May to September, 

but much depended 
upon the distribution. 
The June, July and 
August rainfall had 
the greatest influence, 
and of these July was 
the most important. 
The September rain- 
fall had no noticeable 
effect, while much 
rainfall and cloudy 
weather in April and 
May decreased the 
yield. A July rainfall of from 4.75 to 5,25, and a June, July 
and August rainfall of 11.75 to 12.25 inches, was found most 
desirable. The most favorable condition for the growth of maize 
is comparatively heavy rains at considerable intervals, with clear 
sunshiny weather in the meantime. 

II. THE SOIL AND ITS AMENDMENTS. 

282. Soil. — The yield of maize is gr-eatly influenced by the 
character of the soil, perhaps even more so than any other 
cereal. Alluvial river bottom soil and tile drained swamps 
furnish the best conditions. A large proportion of the maize 
crop is grown on drift soil, but not all portions of the glaciated 
land are equally well adapted to this crop. (115) In the Southern 
States the red or chocolate-colored upland soils with red clay 
subsoils are better for maize than the gray soils with yellow 
clay subsoils.' For its best growth, maize requires a friable 

1 Ga. Bui. 46, p. "j^. 



3C 6 

H 

32 5 

30J 

28 

26 

24 

22 

20 

18 



A comparison of the average rainfall for July and the 
average yield of maize in bushels per acre in Ohio, 
Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and 
Kentucky. (After J. Warren Smith.) 

Average yield of maize in bushels per acre. 

Average precipitation in July in inches. 



SOIL FOR MAIZE 209 

soil that is easily drained and does not bake during drouth. 
While the water should drain freely from the surface, a water- 
table within three feet of the surface is not objectionable and 
probably desirable. The free movement of water through the 
soil in all directions, especially during the period of fastest 
growth, is essential to the largest yields. 

283. Rotations. — The maize crop, while not considered an 
exhaustive crop, requires a fertile soil, that is, one with a high 
crop producing capacity. The rotation and fertilization are such 
as to bring this crop on the soil at the time of its greatest pro- 
ducing power. Throughout the main "corn-belt," a good rota- 
tion is, maize, two years ; wheat or oats, one year ; timothy and 
clover, three years. In the Northern States outside the distinc- 
tive " corn-belt," maize is grown only one year, generally followed 
by oats; then wheat seeded with timothy and clover. The 
length of time the seeding is left to stand is quite variable. 
Economic conditions have a controlling influence, but for the 
good of the land probably one to three years will give the best 
results. (119) The Louisiana Station^ has decided that a three- 
year rotation, consisting of maize, oats, followed by cowpeas and 
cotton, is the best attainable for that section. To get the maxi- 
mum yield, it is necessary to sow the oats in October. The cotton 
cannot be removed in time for the oat crop, but maize can. 

The Indiana Station" found that a rotation that included 
timothy and clover, beans and roots, gave during seven years a 
yield of twenty per cent more grain of maize than did a rotation 
containing only maize, oats and wheat. The last year the gain 
was forty-eight per cent, indicating a continuous widening in 
productive capacity. 

284. The Continuous Cropping of Maize. — On deep black 
friable prairie soils, as well as upon the fertile river bottom soils 

1 La. Bui. 35, p. 1,211. 

2 Ind. Bui. 55, p. 28. 



2IO 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



of the North Central States, maize has been raised continuously 
for many years with success when more or less frequent applica- 
tions of stable manure have been made. The Illinois Station 
raised maize continuously for twenty years upon a black friable 
prairie soil. The average annual yield from the plat receiving 
no fertilizers was, during the last eight years of this period (1888- 
1895), 35.7 bushels ; from the plat receiving commercial fertilizer, 
35.6 bushels, and from the plat receiving stable manure, 47.3 
bushels. A six-course rotation, maize, two years ; oats, one year; 




In referring to the different sections o* the United States the nomenclature of the United 
States Census Bureau is followed, as shown above. Northern States include North 
Atlantic and North Central States, and Southern States include South Atlantic and 
South Central States. 

and clover, three years, was carried out during twenty years 
as uniformly as the exigencies of the clover catch would permit. 
During the last eight years five comparisons as to increase of 
yield, both first year and second year after clover, could be made 
with the plat continuously in maize and receiving no fertilizer. 
The average increase the first year was twenty bushels and the 
second year 15.2 bushels per acre. In a similar comparison, 
where maize alternated with oats, the average increased yield as 



FERTILIZERS FOR MAIZE 211 

compared with the plat continuously in maize without fertilizer 
was 2.6 bushels per acre.' 

285. Maintaining the Crop Producing Power of the Soil. — 

The use of stable manure and the rotation of crops in connec- 
tion with stock raising are the chief means of keeping the land 
in good condition to grow maize. Maize is not an exhaustive 
crop because (i) it removes from the soil comparatively small 
quantities of soil elements for food produced ; (2) it produces 
large quantities of organic matter which when fed to live-stock 
makes large quantities of organic manure to return to the soil ; 
(3) the intercultural tillage is doubtless beneficial, although this 
has not been as fully demonstrated as the expression of Jethro 
Tull, — "Tillage is manure," — might indicate. 

The Indiana Station^ manured for two years a series of alter- 
nate plats which had grown maize continuously for five years 
with fresh horse manure amounting for two years to about fifty 
tons per acre. No manure was used before or since. During 
twelve years the average yield was nearly ten bushels per acre 
more on the manured than on the unmanured plats and on the 
last year of the period was nearly five bushels greater. 

286. Influence of Organic Matter. — Stable manure is more 
frequently applied to land intended for maize than to any other. 
Grass and clover are usually followed by maize. One reason 
why stable manure is found generally beneficial for maize is that 
it supplies organic matter, which when in proper condition may 
modify the water content of the soil. Instances are known 
where no influence whatever was obtained from the use of 
large quantities of commercial fertilizers, but where the use of 
stable manure increased the crop. The Wisconsin Station 
found that while the total amount of water in the upper six feet 
of soil was essentially equal in both manured and unmanured 

1 111. Bui. 42, p. 177. 

2 Ind. Bui. 55, p. 29. 



212 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

ground/ yet there was a marked difference in the distribution 
of it, the upper three feet of the manured ground being de- 
cidedly more moist than the unmanured. This may have been 
due to one or more of four reasons : 

(i) The increased vegetable matter in the soil may cause 
more of the rainfall to be absorbed and allow less to run off the 
surface. 

(2) Less water may be evaporated from such a soil, as in- 
dicated by laboratory experiments. 

(3) The water may drain off into subterranean channels less 
rapidly. 

(4) More water may be brought up from below by capillary 
attraction. 

It is not unlikely that all four of these causes operated to 
produce the observed results. 

287. Application of Stable Manure. — The amount of stable 
manure per acre may vary from ten to twenty tons. Where 
feasible, an ideal method is to apply the stable manure to the 
meadow in August and plow land late in the fall for the next 
spring's planting. For practical reasons, however, the manure 
is usually hauled in winter and spring and the manured land is 
then spring plowed. When hauling manure in the winter, care 
should be taken not to haul when the land will be seriously 
injured from puddling, and not to spread manure on top of a 
considerable thickness of snow lest it should run off suddenly 
and carry the manure with it. Well rotted manure will bring 
the most immediate results and the largest yield per acre, but 
hauling manure before much decay has taken place causes it 
to go farther, since there is considerable loss through decay. In 
regions or seasons of deficient rainfall the application of unrotted 
manure may cause a reduction in yield. The moisture in the 
soil being insufficient to cause decay, the undecayed organic 

1 After making a correction for water used in producing the increased yield of 
maize upon the manured portion. 



FERTILIZERS FOR MAIZE 213 

matter makes the soil drier, while if it had rotted either before 
or after being put on the soil, it would have increased the soil 
moisture. (286) The system of piling manure in the field and 
subsequently spreading it, while having the merit of securing 
substantially uniform distribution per acre, has fallen into dis- 
use. It was found to be wasteful of labor and if the piles were 
left to stand for a considerable time, to cause unequal local dis- 
tribution of the fertilizing elements. The manure is now usually 
spread from the wagon with a fork, or spread by means of a 
manure spreader. The latter are quite satisfactory so far as 
their work is concerned, but the amount of work required of a 
spreader is such as to cause those at present manufactured to 
lack durability. 

288. The Use of Commercial Fertilizers for the production of 
maize has. been the subject of field experimentation in at least 
twenty-six stations, principally in regions east of the Mississippi 
River. Many of these stations have found but very small in- 
creases from the use of commercial fertilizers, and most of them 
have not found profitable returns, especially west of the Alle- 
ghany Mountains. Practically all agree that the maize plant 
does not respond as readily to the use of commercial fertilizers 
as do the smaller cereals which are sown broadcast and thus 
have so many more plants to the acre, and which grow during a 
cooler portion of the year. 

\\'here the soil requires it, from twenty to sixty pounds of 
phosphoric acid and from five to twenty pounds of nitrogen may 
be applied to the acre. Generally speaking, however, the best 
practice will be found to consist in relying upon the overturned 
sod and stable manure, with lime where needed to grow the 
maize and applying the commercial fertilizers to the wheat both 
to increase the yield of the latter and to promote the new seeding. 

289. Relative Importance of Fertilizing Constituents. — The 
behavior of maize towards the different constituents of fertilizers 



214 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



appears to be much the same as that of wheat. (121) In fact, 
so far as the cereals are concerned, the influence of the several 
ingredients of commercial fertilizers appears to be more depend- 
ent upon the soil than upon the crop. The following table gives 
the average yield of maize cut green for silage during fourteen 
years at Ottawa, Canada, when grown continuously on the same 
plats : ^ 



Tons of green fodder 
8.02 



9.04 
11.40 
9.02 

II.OI 

11.03 
11.97 
14-32 



No. of plats Treatment 

2 Unmanr.red 

3 Phosphorus 
2 Nitrogen .... 
2 Potassium 
2 Phosphorus and nitrogen 
2 Phosphorus and potassium 
5 Phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium 
2 Barnyard manure (mixed horse and cow) 12 tons 

Fertilizers applied each year from 1888 to 1898 or 1899. No fertilizer used 
since. Clover sown in 1900 in place of maize and plowed under in May before 
maize was planted. 

290. Methods of Applying Fertilizers. — While commercial 
fertilizers may be applied broadcast, this method is not generally 
advisable. Some maize planters have fertilizer attachments 
which apply the fertilizer with the seed. Where a wheat drill is 
used for drilling maize, it is a common practice to drill the fer- 
tilizer through the hoes on each side of the hoes drilling the 
maize, thus placing the fertilizer in the soil seven inches on 
each side of the maize row. (305) 

291. Influence of Season on Efficiency of Fertilizers. — At the 

Illinois Station where maize was raised continuously for twenty 
years on manured and unmanured plats (284) in certain seasons 
of deficient rainfall the unmanured plat gave greater yield than 
that receiving annually stable manure. At the Indiana Station ^ 
both stable manure and commercial fertilizers used continuously 
for five years gave the best yields during seasons of high rainfall 

1 Canadian Experimental Farms Rpt. 1902, p. 34. 

2 Ind. Bui. 55, p. 29. 



• FERTILIZERS FOR MAIZE 215 

and the least returns during a season of low rainfall, the com- 
mercial fertilizer causing a decrease in yield. Other things 
equal, the best results from the use of fertilizers may be expected 
in regions or seasons of high rainfall. 

292. The Use of Lime. — In those sections where lime is used, 
it is generally applied to land intended for maize, this appear- 
ing to be the best place in the rotation for its application. 
Wheeler has reported, however, that the use of lime may be 
injurious to the growth of maize where the nitrogen in the soil 
is principally in the form of nitrates, but where the soil is very 
sour and nitrates are not employed its use immediately before 
this crop may prove of great service.^ In ordinary rotation the 
lime would be applied to sod land, although sometimes applied 
to oat stubble, or even maize stubble, where maize follows 
maize. Usually the best results follow its use upon sod land 
of rather long standing. 

Calcium lime (CaO) is generally used and is to be preferred, 
although magnesian lime (MgO) is also used to a considerable 
extent with apparently satisfactory results. Besides increasing 
the per cent of calcium in the soil, lime makes adhesive soils 
more friable and granular, perhaps by causing a rearrangement 
and cementing together of the soil grains ; makes sandy soil 
more retentive to organic matter; corrects the acidity of the soil 
in case any exists, thus creating a favorable condition for the 
growth of nitrifying organisms ; may make potassium and phos- 
phorus more available; hastens decomposition of organic matter; 
and while making the nitrogen in organic matter more available, 
may cause a more rapid loss of total nitrogen ; — there is an old 
proverb, " Lime enriches the father but beggars the son." 
Where it is necessary to use lime, it should be accompanied by 
a liberal use of stable manure. 

293. Indications of Need of Lime. — The need of lime may be 
1 R. I. Bui. 46, p. 95. 



2l6 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

indicated (i) by the per cent of lime (CaO) present;^ (2) by 
the acidity of the soil, which may be determined in quite sour 
soils by bringing the moist soil into contact with neutral litmus 
paper under proper precautions ; " (3) by the excessive adhesive- 
ness of clay soils ; (4) by the character of the vegetation, or a 
change in the characteristic vegetation, or (5) by the persistent 
failure of certain crops, such as clover and beets. The most 
satisfactory method, however, of determining the need of lime is 
by applying it under conditions which make it possible to tell 
whether there is any increase of crop due to liming.^ 

294. The Application of Lime. — The equivalent of from one 
to four tons or from twenty-five to 100 bushels of quick lime 
(CaO) may be applied to land intended for maize. Ordinarily 
the amount should not exceed fifty bushels.* (122) 

The freshly burned (quick) lime may be applied directly to 
the field, where it soon slakes, after which the land may be 
plowed, care being taken not to plow too deep. Unless it is 
ground, however, it is difficult to spread quick lime evenly. In 
order to reduce it to a fine powder the lime may be put in piles 
of two or three bushels at any convenient time in the fall, where 
the air, rains and moisture from the soil slake it. Better results 
will be obtained if the ground is scraped off down to moist soil 
where the lime is placed and the pile covered with moist soil. 
If the soil is dry, a half pail of water may be added to each pile. 
As soon as possible, the piles should be spread with a shovel 
and the land plowed. Although more laborious, it is better 
to apply the slaked lime to the plowed land in the spring and 

1 For agricultural crops, 0.2 per cent is usually considered the minimum re- 
quirement. This can be determined only by chemical analysis. 

2 R. I. Bui. 46, p. 100. 

8 For full discussion on the use of lime, see The Agricultural Use of Lime in 
Pennsylvania. By Dr. William Frear, 6th Ann. Rpt. Penn. Dept. of Agr. (1900), 
PP- 193-353- 

•* The legal weight of a bushel of lime varies in different States from seventy to 
eighty pounds. 



FERTILIZERS FOR MAIZE 217 

harrow it in. It takes less lime, the lime is nearer the surface, 
and, if water-slaked in a large pile, it is in a much finer powder. 
While there is a difference of opinion as to the practical differ- 
ences between the causticity of quick lime (CaO), water-slaked 
lime (Ca(HO)o), and air-slaked lime (CaCOy), all seem agreed 
that fineness is a positive advantage. The slaked lime may be 
spread from a wagon with a shovel, or a manure spreader with 
lime attachment may be used. Finely ground quick lime is now 
placed upon the market, and may be applied with a grain drill 
or a lime spreader. 

295. Irrigation. — While alfalfa, wheat, potatoes and many 
fruits and vegetables have been abundantly raised by irrigation 
in America, maize has nowhere been extensively grown by this 
means. The yields of maize ih the arid region under irrigation 
so far as reported do not compare favorably with yields in humid 
regions without irrigation. 

The Wisconsin Station l has studied the influence of irrigation in the humid 
region. During eight years, ending 1901, the average yield of niaize silage contain- 
ing thirty per cent of dry matter was 17.2 tons with irrigation and 12.3 tons without 
irrigation, on land of moderate fertility. Wherever comparisons were made the 
increase in grain was greater than the increase in total dry matter. The average 
amount of water added per year was five inches. King concludes that "well man- 
aged irrigation in climates like that of Wisconsin may increase the yield of maize 
silage 40 to 45 per cent, and that of ear corn from 50 to 60 per cent as a general 
average." On coarse sandy soils in Wisconsin, water alone produced much better 
results than stable manure alone, but both together had much the greatest effect. 2 
In 1902, the yield during a cold wet season without irrigation was greater than on 
comparable plats in the hot dry season of 1901 with irrigation. It was also found 
that the yield was greater on land that had not been irrigated the previous year, the 
reduction being greatest on manured land. 3 

1 U. S. Dept. of Agr., O. E. S. Bui. 119, p. 315. 

2 U. S. Dept. of Agr., O. E. S. I3ul. 1x9, p. 326^ 
8 wfe. Rpt. 1902, p. 187 



XIII. 



MAIZE. 



CULTURAL METHODS. 



1 



296. Time of Plowing. — The evidence appears conclusive 
that the question of time of plowing relates to economic farm 
management rather than to differences in comparative yields. 
The experimental evidence on the subject of fall and spring 
plowing is meager and inconclusive. At the Nebraska Sta- 
tion^ much better yields of grain were 
obtained from plowing in September 
than in April, but no material difference 
was obtained from plowing 
in November than April. 
There are fine clay soils 
which become during the 
winter, if fall-plowed, so 
hard and compact as to 
make the preparation of a 
suitable seed bed at plant- 
ing time a difificult task. 
Usually, however, the frosts 
of winter have a mellowing 
influence and increase the ease of preparing the seed bed. As 
fall plowing seldom affects the yield adversely, at least, it is gen- 
erally good farm practice to plow in the fall those areas to which 
manure is not to be applied during winter and spring. J Early 
plowing in the spring as compared with late plowing tends to 
conserve the soil moisture both by preventing evaporation of 
water and by increasing the amount of rainfall held. 

1 Neb. F.ul. 54. 




Single row stalk cutter used for cutting up stalks, 

where maize follows maize, to prevent stalks from 
interfering with the operation of the cL<ltivator. 



CULTUKE OF MAIZE 



219 



1-43 


^■33 


7-34 


4.68 


7.62 


4.92 


4.08 


2.06 


2.12 


1. 19 



Quiro<i;a has shown that early plowing as compared with late 
plowing may not only increase the percentage of moisture in the 
soil and the yield of maize, but that the nitric nitrogen in the 
soil may be considerably increased. The available nitrogen in 
parts per million of dry soil was found to be as follows : ^ 

Month Early plowed Late plowed 

April 

June 

July . . 

August . 

September 

Season April to September . 4.51 2.83 

On the other hand, early plowing decreases the amount of 
organic matter which will be incorporated in the soil if the land 
is in sod or a cover crop. Where the land is badly infested 
v.ith perennial weeds, such as the bindweed or morning glory, 
late plowing destroys the growth already started and gives the 
maize plant a chance at least to start even. When the land is 
plowed immediately before planting, it may be at once dragged 
or rolled and then harrowed and planted while the surface is 
still fresh and moist. When the plowing is done earlier in the 
spring the surface requires working at once to prevent it from 
becoming hard, thus generally increasing the amount of labor 
to get a good seed bed. 

297. Depth of Plowing. — While the variation in the depth of 
plowing seriously influences the cost of raising maize, since the 
draft of the plow is nearly proportional to the amount of soil 
turned, yet the investigations on this subject are quite unsatis- 
factory. In only one instance has a station reported results on 
depth of plowing for more than one year upon the same land. 
Undoubtedly the best depth will vary with the soil, the climate, 
the season, often with the previous crop grown, and the applica- 



1 Ohio State University Bui. Series S, No. 28. 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



tions made (291) ; but no rules can be laid down as a guide for 
general practice. The following table gives the results of trials on 
widely different soils under widely differing climatic conditions : 





Depth of plowing, inches 




Station 






2 


4 


6 


8 


10 


12 


Illinois! 


52.9 


69.4 


69-3 


71.7 






Illinois .... 




54.0 




57-5 




56.0 




Indiana (ave. 3 years) . 






39-5 


40.5 


42-3 


41.8 


42.0 


Pennsylvania (ave. 3 years) 







47.0 


62.0 


57-S 


58.5 




New Hampshire 2 . | 




.... 


14.2 


26.2 


29.4 


28.2 




Alabama (Canebrake Sta.) 




.... 


24.1 






24.2 




Minnesota 






65.8 


64.4 


59-53 




.... 


Ohio4 .... 






43-1 




42.9 






Nebraska 






38-5 




31.0 








In all cases the plowing was done in the spring, except at the New Hampshire 
Station, when the land was plowed November first. In the first trial at the Illinois 
Station, in place of the usual intercultural tillage, the weeds were removed by 
scraping with a sharp hoe with the least possible disturbance of the soil. An 
adjacent plat, not plowed but disked one inch deep, yielded 56.4 bushels of grain. 
The land on which this experiment was conducted had not been plowed in two 
years. 

At the Pennsylvania Station a timothy and clover sod was plowed. At the four- 
inch depth the sod did not cover well and the shallow cultivation (two inches deep) 
which all plats received did not eradicate the grass on plats plowed only four inches 
deep. 

While in a number of trials satisfactory results have been 
obtained by plowing four inches deep and less, yet the most 
generally satisfactory depth, all things considered, would seem 
to be six inches. As compared with wheat and oats, deep 
plowing is advisable. 

1 All results are in bushels of grain per acre, except in the case of New Hamp' 
shire, where tons of green fodder are given. 

2 Depths were 3, 5, 7 and 9 inches. 

3 Also subsoiled 6 inches deeper. 

4 Depths were 3 and 7 inches. 



CULTURE OF MAIZE 22 1 

298. Subsoiling, or the loosening of the subsoil without 
bringing it to the surface, usually to a depth of twelve to 
eighteen inches, has been tried by a large number of stations. 
In some cases benefits ; in other cases injury, both generally 
slight, but in most instances no material difference, has 
resulted. Subsoiling is nowhere a common practice, and the 
experiments so far conducted would lead to the conclusion that 
it will be found profitable for maize in humid regions only in 
exceptional cases. Indeed, in humid regions there is danger of 
puddling the subsoil, especially in the spring, where the subsoil 
may be quite wet while the surface soil is in condition to plow. 
In a co-operative test with fifty-nine farmers for three years, the 
Nebraska Station ^ concludes that in Nebraska subsoiling is 
beneficial on clay subsoils and useless or injurious on loam 
subsoils. 

299. Preparing the Ground After Plowing. — Fall-plowed land 
is left without further preparation until spring, as this exposure 
aids weathering and the absorption of moisture. As soon as 
the surface begins to dry out in the spring it may be pulverized 
in order to give it a mulch, and thus prevent the soil from drjing 
out and becoming hard. When land is spring-plowed, the 
upturned clods will, during a dry time, become exceedingly hard 
and difficult to pulverize. To prevent this, the surface should 
be pulverized before the drying has proceeded too far. Usually 
it is best thus to treat each day's plowing on the day it is done. 
This may be done with a wooden drag, a smoothing harrow, or 
even a roller. 

A deep loose seed bed, with all large lumps pulverized, is 
desirable, but fineness of pulverization is not so important as in 
wheat. The three tools most generally useful in preparing the 
seed bed are the wooden drag, the disk harrow and the light 
smoothing harrow. The roller may replace the drag, and the 
spring tooth harrow may replace the disk harrow, especially on 

I Neb. BuL 54. 



222 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



stony ground. Precise 
rules cannot be laid down 
as to number of times or 
the order in which these 
tools will be used, since 
this will depend largely 
upon the character and 
condition of the soil, which 
must be determined upon 
the spot. 

Very much depends up- 
on performing each tillage 
operation when the soil is 
in just the right condition. 
Two hours of sunshine will 
often make the difference 
between success and fail- 
ure in the operation of a 
tillage implement. This 
is what is meant in part 
by the couplet : 

He that by the plow would thrive 
Himself must either hold or drive. 

After the maize is planted, 
the land should be har- 
rowed once, at least, with 
the smoothing harrow be- 
fore the plant is out of 
the ground, and on many 
soils may be successfully 
harrowed after plants are 
well up. This second 

Toolsfor preparing seed bed. A, wooden drag ; B, harrOwing should nOt be 
tubular roller ; C, spring tooth harrow; D, disk 
harrow ; E, spike tooth harrow. glVCn JUSt whcn the maiZC 




CULTURE OF MAIZK 



223 



is coming, but after it is well up. When planted in drills it is 
best to harrow crosswise of the drills instead of with drills. 
When harrowing with the drills a harrow tooth will sometimes 
get started down a row and 
drag out the plants for some 
distance. In place of the 
smoothing harrow, the 
weeder or Gould harrow 
.(A) may be used. 

300. Depth of Planting. 

— Maize may be planted 
from one to four 
inches deep. The 
average yield dur- 
ing six years at the 
Ohio State Univer- 
sity has been as fol- 
lows : One inch 
deep, 57.9 bushels; 
two inches deep, 
51.2 bushels; three 
inches deep, 46.8 
bushels.^ Four 
seasons the re- 
sults favored 
one inch deep, 
while during two 
seasons, when 

/■ 11 Tools for stirring soil before or soon after maize is up. A, homemade 

rainfall was 
about two-thirds 
normal, two 
inches gave the 
best results. At the Illinois Station the average yield during 

1 Ohiti Rpt. 1S90, p. 87. 




harrow, consisting of three pieces of 2 x 4, each seven feet four 
inches long, and eighty sixty-penny wire spil<es. Traces of one horse 
to be hitched directly to flexible attachments indicated in order to 
give harrow vibratory motion ; B, weeder ; C, adjustable smooth- 
ing harrow. 



224 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

five years was as follows: One inch deep, 78 bushels; two 
inches deep, 72 bushels; three inches deep, 65 bushels; four 
inches deep, 69 bushels; five inches deep, 61 bushels; six 
inches deep, 60 bushels.^ This experiment was on soil much 
more favorable to deep planting than the average. In three 
years the best results were obtained at one inch, one year at 
four inches, and one year at six inches, this last being due to 
an exceptional period of drouth subsequent to planting. At 
the Ontario Agricultural College during four years, better 
yields were obtained at two and three inches deep than at 
shallower or deeper planting.^ At the New York Station plant- 
ing between two and eight inches deep caused a loss of seed 
germination as compared with shallower planting, but the yield 
per stalk was about the same at all depths.^ 

When planted by machinery, it is usually necessary to plant 
some of the seed somewhat deeper than one inch in order that 
all may be covered an inch deep. Hence the desirability of a 
uniform seed bed. Where it is the practice to harrow the land 
after planting it is probably better to plant deeper than one inch 
so as not to move or drag out the hills. The depth of planting 
has merely to do with the plant getting properly started. If the 
seed germinates equally well, no difference in yield need be ex- 
pected on account of depth of planting. Nothing is gained by 
deep planting, unless necessitated by dryness of soil or practical 
considerations just mentioned. It only requires of the plant 
greater time and effort to reach the surface. The depth of 
roots is not materially affected by depth of planting. (52) 

301. Listing. — There is a method of planting known as list- 
ing practiced in those States where the soils are friable and the 
rainfall scanty. Shelton wrote in 1888:* 

1 111. Bui. 31, p. 353. 

2 Ont. Agr. and Expt. Farms Rpt. 1902, p. 133. 

3 N. Y. State Rpt. 1882, p. 51. 

4 Kan. Rpt. 1888, p. 25. 



CULTURE OF MAIZE 



225 



" At the present time nearly or quite three-fourths of Kansas corn is raised by 
the method known as listing; which, I may say in explanation, consists of drilling 
the seed in the bottoms of deep furrows struck at the usual intervals in ground not 
otherwise plowed. 

" It is claimed that listed corn endures dry weather much better than the surface 
planted ; that it gives increased yield and this especially that the labor of growing 
a crop of c(^ is reduced one-fourth to one-third by the new method." 

Kansas Station has reported six, Oklahoma Station two tests 
of listed maize as compared to that surface planted, as follows : 



State 



Kansas 
Kansas 
Kansas 
Kansas 
Kansas 
Kansas 
Oklahoma . 
Oklahoma . 

Average 



Year 



1S88 
1889 
1892 

1893 
1895 
1896 
1894 
1896 



Surface 



41 
86 
26 
28 
15 
37 
10 

32 



34-4 



Listed 



46 
89 

25 
26 

17 

47 
15 
28 



36.6 



Five out of the eight trials of listed maize gave the best 
results and on the average of the eight trials the yield was six 

per cent greater than when surface 
planted. 

At the Illinois Station^ maize 
listed on fall plowed land gave a 





Combined sulky lister and planter; 
makes furrow in unplowed ground, 
drops and covers seed at the same Cultivator for listed maize; also made with disks 
time. In some cases disks are used in place of knives. Forms are made which culti- 
in place of shovels to cover the seed. vate two rows at one time. 

1 111. Bui. 2,7, P- 24. 



226 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



yield of fifty-one bushels as compared with fifty-six bushels on 
an average of ten adjacent plats when surface planted. 

302. Time of Planting. — The soil should be at least 60° F. 
at the depth of the seed before maize is planted. But it is not 
enough to consult the thermometer ; the almanac s^wuld also 
be consulted. A change in the weather may follow even after 
the temperature of the soil is 60° F. The old Indian sign, 
which is to plant maize when the leaves of oak trees are as big as 
a squirrel's ear, is not much at fault. The best date of planting 
will of course vary largely with the season. The following table 
gives the best dates as determined at the stations indicated, as 
well as indicating the period over which the test was made. 

Results from Planting at Different Dates. 



Station 


Seasons 


Earlies 


Best 


Latest 


Illinois 


8 


Apr. 22-26 


May 11-18 


June 17-22 


Indiana 


7 


May 1-2 


May 1-8 


May 28-30 


Kansas 


2 


Apr. 18-20 


May I 


May 29-30 


North Dakota 


I 


May 18-25 


June 1-8 


June 15-July 2 


Ohio . 


7 


Apr. 26 


May 14-24 


June 4-12 


Oklahoma . 


2 


Mar. 21-28 


Mar. 28-Apr.i8 


Apr. 25-May 13 


South Dakota 


3 


May I 


May 15-25 


June 10 



There is fairly good evidence that in the main maize belt 
there is a period of three to four weeks within which the time 
of planting does not materially affect the yield. At the Illinois 
Station, for example, while the best results during an average of 
eight years were obtained from May nth to May i8th, there was 
but little difference in yield from May 4th to June ist. Very 
early planting, however, has been shown to require more cultiva- 
tion to keep the land free of weeds. On the other hand, it is 
not wise to delay planting when the conditions are favorable 
for fear that subsequently climatic conditions may be such as 
to prevent the planting at the theoretically best time. Where 



CULTURE OF MAIZE 227 

maize is planted on old sod land, it is frequently advisable to 
delay planting in order to avoid cut worms and other allied 
insects. (329) 

303. Rate of Planting. — In securing maximum yields of grain 
and stover ver)^ much depends upon the rate of seeding and the 
uniformity of distribution. The thickness of planting depends 
upon the soil, the climate, the variety and the purpose for which 
it is grown. In some of the Southern States maize is planted in 
hills five feet apart and one stalk produced per hill. In the 
New England States it is planted four feet apart and three to 
four stalks are raised per hill. In one experiment at the Georgia 
Station^ a larger yield of maize was obtained where 2,184 stalks 
were raised per acre than by thicker planting. In another 
experiment at the Connecticut Station^ a greater yield of grain 
and of water-free fodder was obtained with 21,780 stalks per 
acre than by thicker or thinner seeding. In other words, the 
best results with dent maize were obtained in Connecticut with 
ten times as thick planting as in Georgia. These results are 
doubtless unusual, but they indicate possible extremes. 

The Illinois Station tested for three years six rates of seeding 
ranging from 5,940 grains to 47,520 grains per acre; and for 
five years rates ranging from 9,504 grains to 47,520 grains per 
acre. Five plats of each rate were planted each year under 
different methods of distribution. The size of the whole plant 
and of the ear increased uniformly as the planting became 
thinner. The proportion of ears to stalks also increased. The 
total weight of fodder increased uniformly as the planting 
increased in thickness. The total weight of grain was greatest 
two years when 23,760 grains were planted ; two years when 
11,880 grains were planted, and one year when 9,504 grains 
were planted. In this last instance the total yield was small, 
the season being exceptionally unfavorable for maize. The 

1 Ga. Bui. 10, p. 148. 

2 Conn. Rpt. 18S9, p. 16. 



228 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



thickest seeding gave the best results when the general average 
of all plats was highest. The greatest average yield of grain 
for five years was when i i,S8o grains were planted. The total 
average yield of grain for five years was not greatly affected by 
rates of seeding varying from 9,504 to 23,760 grains per acre; 
but the size of the ears was markedly different, the average 
weight of ears being from one-third to one-half greater in the 
thinner planting. The following table of results obtained at the 
Illinois Station for three years (1888- 1890) illustrates relation- 
ships which have been more or less completely verified by other 
stations which have investigated this subject.'^ 



I 



Rate of planting 



47,520 
23,760 
15,840 
11,880 
9,504 
5,940 



Weight of 

100 ears, 

lb. 


Weight of 

100 stalks 

(stover), 

lb. 


Weight of 

shelled 
maize per 
acre, bu. 


24 


29 


59 


39 


40 


76 


SI 


45 


n 


59 


51 


81 


62 


55 


72 


66 


66 


55 



Tonsstover 
per acre 



4.8 
3-7 
31 
3-0 
2.9 
2.5 



The more favorable the soil and climatic conditions are 
for large yields of maize, the thicker the planting should be. 
At the Illinois Station a seeding which produced from nine 
thousand to twelve thousand ears per acre brought the largest 
yield of grain when the conditions favored a general yield of 
seventy-five bushels or more ; and a seeding which produced 
from eight thousand to nine thousand ears per acre gave the 
largest yield of grain when the conditions favored a general 
yield of forty to sixty bushels. Although varying somewhat with 
the rate of planting, within ordinary limits about three grains 
were planted for each two ears harvested. At the Missouri 
Station,' qjj good land, the largest yield, seventy bushels, was 

1 111. Bui. 13, p. 410. 
a Mo. Bui. 32. 



CULTURE OF MAIZE 229 

obtained by leaving four stalks in hills three feet nine inches 
apart each way, or 12,960 stalks per acre, while on poor land 
the largest yield, thirty-six bushels, was from two stalks per hill, 
or 6,480 stalks per acre. 

For the principal maize belt, planting at the rate of one grain 
every twelve inches, or approximately four grains per hill in 
rows three feet eight inches apart, has given the best results 
where only grain is desired ; at the rate of one grain every nine 
inches where both grain and stover are desired, the grain being 
considered the principal product, and at the rate of one grain 
every six inches where it is planted for silage or where maize 
fodder is to be fed without husking. Where maize is intended 
for soiling to be fed early in the season before ears have 
been formed, the planting should be at the rate of one grain 
every three inches, as the development of the individual plant 
is not seriously retarded by this thicker planting up to this 
period of growth. These general relationships will probably 
hold for regions further north or south, but the absolute rate 
will vary. 

304. Influence of Rate of Seeding Upon Composition. — An- 
alyses show that when there is no greater variation in rate of 
planting than that of one grain every six to twelve inches that 
there is no material difference in the composition of the fodder, 
but where excessive amounts of seed are planted the protein is 
materially decreased, and the percentage of crude fiber consid- 
erably increased. 

At the Connecticut Station,! with flint and dent maize planted at six rates of 
seeding varying from 2,720 to 87,040 plants per acre, the per cent of ash and pro- 
tein (\x6.25) ^vas greatest when the stand of maize was thinnest, and decreased 
regularly up to the thickest planting. This difference was small in the ash but 
large in the protein. The per cent of fiber was greatest in the thickest planting, 
but the relation between the per cent of fiber and the rate of seeding was not en- 
tirely uniform. In both varieties the percentage of nitrogen-free extract was 
greatest when there were 21,760 plants per acre. In both varieties, that thickness 
which gave the largest yield of dry matter also gave the greatest yield of nutrients, 

I Conn. Rpt. 1899, p. 9. 



230 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

except in dent maize, where the fiber was the greatest at the thickest planting-, 
while the total yield of dry matter was greatest where 21,760 plants were harvested 
per acre. 

At the Maine Station l seeding at rates varying from 12,446 to 24,891 grains per 
acre was found to produce no marked difference either in yield of total dry matter 
or in composition. 

The New Hampshire Station 2 found no marked difference in composition with 
a flint variety between planting at ten quarts and one bushel of seed per acre, but 
with a dent variety found a much larger percentage of protein and a considerably 
smaller percentage of crude fiber when one-half bushel of seed was used than when 
two bushels were used. 

The Pennsylvania Station 8 found no marked difference in composition between 
seeding a dent variety at eighteen and forty-two pounds of seed per acre, or a flint 
variety at twenty-one and fifty-five pounds per acre. 

1 Me. Rpt. 1S96, p. 31. 

2 N. H. Bui. 92. 

8 Penn. Rpt. 1891, p. 30. 



XIV. 



MAIZE. 



CULTURAL METHODS (cONCLUnED). 

305. Planting in Hills or Drills. — The Indian method of 
planting maize was to plant four grains in a hill four feet each 
way. .This method they 
taught to the colonists. 
The usual method in the 
North Atlantic States is 
to plant in drills ; in the 
North Central States the 
practice is divided, but 
the larger part is planted 
in hills ; in the Southern 
States it is usually planted 
in hills on the low level 
lands, while on hill lands 
the maize is drilled, in 
order that all cultivation 
may be at right angles 
to the slope of the hill, 
and thus prevent wash- 

incr. The chief reason Two-row maize planter ; seed can be planted either in 




why maize is planted in 
drills in the North At- 
lantic States is that on 
account of the uneven- 
ness of the surface the 
check rowing planters do 
not readily check straight 



hil!5 or drills. Below on the left Is shown a disk in 
place of shoe as a furrow opener. On the right are 
two forms of rotary plates for dropping the seed. In 
the form on the right the number of grains dropped 
at one time depends upon the size of the holes in the 
plate ; in the form shown in the center, the fact that 
grains of maize are all practically the same thickness, 
no matter how much they vary in length and width, 
is taken advantage of to select the grains singly, the 
number per hill depending upon the rate at which 
the plate revolves, 




232 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

cross rows, and that on account of the comparative smallness of 
the fields a one-horse machine will drill maize rapidly enough, and 
can be bought for from ten to twelve dollars ; while a two-horse 
maize planter, such as is found economical in the larger and more 
level fields in the North Central States, will cost from thirty to 
forty dollars. The wheat drill is also 
frequently used in the North Atlantic 
States for planting maize. If the third 
hoe from each end of a wheat drill 
having eleven hoes, each seven inches 
apart, is used, maize will be drilled in 
One-row maize drill with Mzer rows three feet six inches apart, and 
attachment. ^\^q whccls wiU be twcuty-onc inches 

from the drill row, thus serving to mark the land. The differ- 
ences in method relate to economical farm management, rather 
than to any material difference in the growth of maize. It is 
only a question by which method maize may be raised at 
the least cost, and at the same time given the most effective 
cultivation. 

306. Method of Distribution. — Fifteen stations have experi- 
mented on the influence of the method of distribution of seed, 
the amount of seed per acre remaining the same, and all have 
found either no difference or comparatively small differences 
due to methods of distribution. Experiments have been con- 
ducted at the Illinois Station ^ for five years. Plats were planted 
at five rates of seeding, ranging from 9,504 to 47,520 grains; 
and at each of these rates of seeding at four methods of distri- 
bution : namely, one, two, three and four grains in a place. For 
three years five grains to a hill were planted. For example, 
one grain every twelve inches, two grains every twenty-four 
inches, three grains every thirty-six inches and four grains 
every forty-eight inches. While the rate of thickness (303) 
modified the yield of grain and stover, as well as the develop- 

1 111. Bui. 31, p. 354. 



CULTURE OF MAIZE 



233 



ment of the individual plants, it made no material difference in 
the development of the individual plant, the size of the ear, the 
yield of grain or of stover, and hence the proportion of grain to 
stover, whether one, two, three, four or five grains were planted 
in a place, provided the number of grains planted per acre was 
the same, the least distance between hills being three inches, 
and the greatest being forty-eight inches, in rows three feet 
eight inches apart. The following table shows the yield of 
grain for five years, plats having been averaged so as to elimi- 
nate the influence of rate of seeding. 



Grains 
per hill or 




Bushels per acre 


of air dry grain 














place 


18S8 


1889 


1890 


1892 


1893 


Average 


I 


80 


67 


47 


88 


39 


64.1 


2 


78 


71 


46 


84 


38 


63-5 


3 


73 


71 


46 


87 


42 


63.8 


4 


78 


68 


43 


89 


42 


64.0 



At the Maryland Station experiments have been conducted 
during five years with one stalk each twenty-two and a half 
inches in rows three feet nine inches apart as compared to two 
stalks per hill three feet nine inches apart. The following 
table shows the yield to have been slightly in favor of drilling 
every year both in yield of grain and stover : 





Yield of grain, bushels 


Yield of stover, pounds 


Year 


Drilled 


Checked 


Drilled 


Checked 


1894 

1895 

1896 

1897 

1898 


62.8 

35-8 
49.8 
50.4 
54.6 


58.7 

33-2 
42.8 
49.1 
S4.I 


3-291 
2,349 
2,675 
1,792 
2,987 


3,190 
1,824 
1,920 
2,142 
2,894 


Average .... 


50.7 


47.6 


2,618 


a»394 



234 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

The Connecticut Station ^ found the composition of the crop 
practically the same, whether planted in hills or drills. Doubt- 
less in some instances increased yields which have been attributed 
to planting in drills have been due to increased rate of seeding 
and not to the method of distribution, ^^'here deep culture is 
practiced, however, drilling doubtless lessens the injuiy from 
root pruning (311), although at the same time tending to increase 
the growth of weeds. (309) 

307. Distance Apart of Rows. — While a large number of 
experiments have been made to determine the advisability of 
planting in hills or drills, but few experiments have been made 
to determine the best distance or the limit of distance between 
rows. The distance apart of rows usually varies from three feet 
six inches or less in the extreme North to six feet or more in the 
South. Probably more maize planters are sold which plant three 
feet eight inches apart than any other distance. From experi- 
ments which have been conducted it is doubtful whether greater 
yields of dent maize can be obtained with rows three feet six 
inches apart than with rows three feet eight inches apart, provided 
the same amount of grain is planted per acre. On the other 
hand, the labor of cultivation is increased about five per cent. 

The Georgia Station spaced single plants of dent maize four 
by three feet, five by two and four-tenths feet, and six by two 
feet, thus securing the same number of plants per acre, and 
obtained seventeen, sixteen and five-tenths, and sixteen and 
one-tenth bushels per acre respectively.^ At the Alabama Station ^ 
slightly better yields were obtained with single plants three feet 
nine inches apart in rows four feet apart than with single plants 
three feet apart in rows five feet apart. The station, however, 
recommends rows five feet apart, both on account of the cheap- 
ness of cultivation and because it facilitates the raising of a row 

1 Conn. Rpt. 1890, p. 183. 

2 Ga. Bui. 46, p. 68. 

3 Ala. Bui. 88, p. 500. 



CULTURE OF MAIZE 



235 



of cowpeas between the rows of maize, which practice is recom- 
mended for poor land. 

308. Intercultural Tillage. — The cultivation of maize during 
its stages prevents the growth of weeds and stirs the soil. The 
destruction of the weeds is made necessary by the fact that 
comparatively few plants are raised per acre and that it takes 
these plants from four to eight weeks to occupy the soil and 
shade the ground sufficiently to check the growth of weeds. 
The small grains quickly occupy the soil and prevent the growth 
of weeds. The tillage of these cereals has not in most instances 
been found to increase the yield. (136) This fact, in itself, 
suggests that killing the weeds is the most important purpose 
of tillage. 

309. Injury Due to Weeds. — At the New Hampshire Station* 
on an uncultivated plat on which weeds grew luxuriantly, the 
yield of grain was 17.1 bushels per acre, while on a plat culti- 
vated shallow five times, the yield was 79.1 bushels, and when 
cultivated deep five times it was 69.7 bushels per acre. The 
injury due to weeds may be attributed to three causes : 

(i) They consume plant food. The plant food removed by 
the largest possible crop can easily be supplied in fertilizers. 
As good a crop could not be raised in this way as would be 
obtained if no fertilizer were applied and the land kept free of 
weeds. Hence, weeds must do something else. 

(2) Weeds shade the ground. They obstruct the sunlight 
and perhaps keep the soil cooler. The author, however, mulched 
a plat sixteen days after planting, with sufficient coarse, stra\vy 
manure to keep the weeds in subjection, and obtained forty- 
eight bushels of grain and 5,009 pounds of maize fodder, as 
compared with forty-six bushels of grain and 4,686 pounds of 
fodder when culti\-ated one to two inches deep, and forty-one 
bushels of grain and 4,224 pounds of fodder when cultivated 
four inches deep. Hence, weeds must do something else. 

1 N. H. Bui. 71, p. 47. 



236 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

(3) Weeds evaporate water. The demand of the maize 
plant for water is so great at certain periods of its growth that 
the possibility of development and yield is fixed by the supply 
of water available. (280) If this supply of water is in any way 
reduced by the growth of weeds, the yield of maize must be 
reduced. Sturtevant observed the difference in practice among 
the vineyardists in New Jersey. Those on the low lands allow 
weeds to grow : on the uplands the soil is kept free of weeds. 
The inference is that the weeds pump the water out of the wet 
land to the advantage of the grape, which prefers a dry soil. 

310. The Effect of Stirring the Soil is to break the roots in 
the area stirred and to make the soil in this area looser, other- 
wise change its structure and to bring particles of soil into dif- 
ferent relations one to another. This allows air, water and 
roots to enter more freely. The amount of water, the tempera- 
ture, and probably the salts in solution are affected thereby. 
(297) King found that cultivating three inches deep made the 
soil .4 to 1.1° F. cooler than cultivating 1.5 inches deep.^ 

311. Root Pruning. — It has been clearly demonstrated that 
any mutilation of maize roots has an injurious effect. At the 
Illinois Station ^ pruning three to four times during the ordinary 
season on all sides six inches from the center of the hill to a 
depth of four inches reduced the yield of grain from ten to thirty- 
two per cent, the average decrease for five years being twenty 
per cent. The greater percentages of decrease were during 
seasons of least rainfall. Pruning three inches deep one season 
caused a decrease of five per cent. The Oklahoma Station^ 
found during one season no injury from running a knife three 
inches deep six inches from the hill, or six inches deep twenty- 
two inches from the hill, but when the knife ran six inches deep 
six or twelve inches from the hill the yield was much reduced. 

1 Wis. Rpt. 1893, p. 190 ; 1894, p. 283. 

2 111. Buls. 13, 25, 31. 
S Okla. Bui. 36. 



CULTURE OF MAIZR 



237 



The New York State Station found a decrease in grain of 
twenty-eight per cent and in stover of twenty per cent during a 
dry season, pruning three inches deep three to four inches from 
the hill. During a rainy season pruning in the same manner 
the second and last time when plants were only ten inches high 
decreased the yield of grain seventeen per cent and the stover 
twenty-three per cent. 



Table Showing Results of Deep and Shallow Culture. 



Station 


Total 
experi- 
ments 


Favoring 
shallow 


Favoring 
deep 


Inconclu- 
sive 


Alabama 


3 


3 






Georgia 

Illinois 


4 
6 


I 
S 


I 


2 
I 


Indiana 


9 


7 


I 


I 


Kansas 


3 


I 


2 




Maryland 

Michigan 

Minnesota .... 


6 
I 

3 


3 

I 
2 


3 


I 


Mississippi 


4 


3 


I 




Missouri .... 


3 


3 






Nebraska 


I 


I 






New Hampshire 

Ohio 


I 
8 


I 
6 






Oklahoma 


2 


I 




I 


Pennsylvania . 
South Carolina 


I 

2 






I 
2 


South Dakota . 


3 


3 






Utah 


5 


2 


3 




Wisconsin .... 


4 


I 


3 




Total 


69 


44 


16 


9 



312. Depth of Cultivation. — While the experiments in root 
pruning suggest that decided injury would result from deep 
culture, they do not show what influence stirring the soil might 
have in counteracting such injuries. Not less than nineteen 



238 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 




stations have made tests 
of deep and shallow culti- 
vation, as shown in table 
on preceding page. 



Sixty-one tests of deep 
cultivation at thirteen sta- 
tions gave an average yield 





C 



of sixty-five bushels, while 
fifty-five tests of shallow 
culture gave seventy-five 
bushels per acre, a de- 
crease of thirteen per cent 




due to deep cultivation.^ 
Most of the stations have 
considered one to two 
inches deep, shallow culti- 
vation, and four or more 
inches deep, deep cultiva- 
tion. In some of the trials -,,,,,,, „. ,. , . 

Tools for the shallow cultivation of maize. A, one- 
where deep Cultivatiqn was horse cultivator with three broad shovels in rear, 

found the best, notably at '''' "'^*' ^"^ '^'P'!' ^'''"^ -diustable, requiring 

•' the passage twice to cultivate a single row ; B, 

the Wisconsin Station, deep two-horse walking cultivator, with broad knives 

cultivation was only three ^°r complete surface tillage, cultivatir,g a single 

•'^ row at each passage ; C, two-horse riding cultl- 

inches deep, and in the 
average of twenty-one trials 



was only one per 

1 Miss. Bui. 23, P- 63. 



vator, shallow cultivation being secured by four, 
sometimes five, small shovels on each side, the 
depth being adjusted by means of levers shown 
cent above frame; cultivates a single row; D, three- 
horse riding cultivator for cultivating two rows 
at one passage. 



CULTURE OF MAIZE 239 

greater than when cultivated one and a half inches deep. 
Studies of root growth of maize made at the Illinois Station 
indicate that fifty per cent more roots may be cut off at four 
than at three inches deep. The evidence in favor of shallow 
cultivation is even more conclusive, therefore, than the table 
indicates. While the evidence seems to show that the breaking 
of the roots while the plant is less than six inches high is not so 
serious as at later periods of growth, and that plowing deep at 
the first cultivation is not so injurious as at a later date, yet, on 
the other hand, evidence does not indicate any special benefit 
from such deep culture in the majority of cases. Doubt- 
less something will depend upon the previous preparation of the 
seed bed. If the seed bed has not been properly prepared 
before planting, or if the land has become extremely compact 
from heavy rains or otherwise, a deep cultivation while the 
plants are quite small may prove beneficial, but the evidence 
clearly indicates that in the majority of cases shallow cultiva- 
tion at all times will give the best results, provided such culti- 
vation is equally effective in eradicating weeds. In practice, 
shallow cultivation has been found equally effective in destroy- 
ing weeds, provided the weeds are not allowed to get too 
large, in which case deeper cultivation sometimes becomes 
necessary. 

313. Amount of Cultivation. — The injury from root pruning 
has generally been greater than injury from deep cultivation. 
This may be due to the cultivation having injured less roots or 
to the beneficial influence due to stirring the soil. During five 
years the Illinois Station^ cultivated a plat two inches deep 
and four inches deep, while on an adjacent plat the weeds were 
removed by scraping the surface with a sharp hoe without 
breaking the crust of earth. The average yield was, deep, sixty- 
six bushels; shallow, seventy-two; none, sixty-eight bushels. 
During two years on one plat where weeds were allowed to grow, 

1 111. Rul. 31, p. 356. 



240 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



no maize was obtained. This experiment has been verified by 
the New Hampshire ^ and Utah ^ Stations. 

Plats were also cultivated from three to five times a season 
in comparison with plats cultivated about three times as much. 
The averages for five years are as follows : 

Bushels grain 
per acre 

Shallow, ordinary ..... 70.3 



Deep, ordinary . 
Shallow, frequent 
Deep, frequent 



66.7 
72.8 
64-5 



Frequent, average .... 68.6 

Ordinary, average .... 68.5 

Eight other stations have found similar results, while the 
Michigan Station found that frequent cultivation gave a yield 
of twenty-five per cent more dry substance than infrequent 
culture.' 

No advantage has been found in cultivating maize after the 
plant is three to four feet high, provided it is free of weeds 
at that time ; and cultivation to prevent subsequent growth of 
weeds has not materially increased the yield, and when cultiva- 
tion was deep, has decreased it. 

314. Conservation of Moisture : Influence Due to Stirring the 
Soil. — It has been shown that allowing the weeds to grow almost 
prevents the growth of maize ; that when weeds are removed 
no stirring of the soil gave better yields than deep stirring; 
while shallow stirring gave better results than either no stirring 
or deep stirring, while finally stirring two or three times a week 
gave about the same results as stirring once a week during the 

1 N. H. Bui. 71 (1900), p. 50. 

2 Utah Bui. 66, p. 108. 

3 Okla. Bui. 63 (1898), p. 4. Ga. Bui. 58 (1902), p. 208. Kan. Bui. 64 (1897), p. 
233. Ohio Rpt. 1888, p. 87. N. H. Bui. 71 (1900), p. 51. So. Dak. Rpt. 1900 (E. S. 
R.II: 511). Mich. Bui. 164, p. 90. Wis. Rpt. 1894, p. 282. Md. Bui. 62 (1899), p. 195- 



CULTURE OF MAIZE 241 

usual period. Aside from its influence in destroying weeds, 
which appears to be the main purpose of all intercultural tillage, 
a moderate amount of stirring to a depth which will not seriously 
injure the roots appears, therefore, to be somewhat beneficial. 

If two inches of cut straw are spread upon the surface of the 
soil, the evaporation of water from the soil will be checked. If 
the surface of the soil is sheltered from rain, but exposed to the 
sun, and at the same time stirred to the depth, say, of two inches, 
the stirred portion rapidly becomes dry, and when in this condi- 
tion acts as a mulch to the soil below, although not as effectively 
as does the cut straw. Under the above conditions the author 
has checked evaporation of water from the soil equal to one- 
fourth of an inch of rainfall per week. 

When, however, the soil is exposed to the usual atmospheric 
conditions of the humid regions, where it rains one day in three, 
it becomes a question whether the evaporation from the lower 
soil is checked more than that from the stirred portion is increased. 
The author has concluded from pot experiments conducted 
during three seasons that for humid regions during ordinary 
weather these two factors were nearly equal, although during 
rainy weather the evaporation may be increased and during 
periods of severe drouth it may be decreased by constant surface 
stirring of the soil, both of which may be desirable. The average 
evaporation in inches of rainfall from two pots treated as indi. 
cated below was determined for eighty-six days during the months 
of June, July, August and September at the Pennsylvania Station : 

Evaporation in Inches of Rainfall During Eighty-Six Days. 

Water. . . . . . . . 19.8 

Bare soil not cultivated .... 16.0 

Bare soil cultivated . . . . . 16.7 

One maize plant, soil not cultivated . . 19.3 

One maize plajit, soil cultivated . . . 18.8 

One maize plant, soil mulched with cut straw 10.6 

Oats followed by oat stubble . . . 27.7 



242 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

In these experiments only the loss of water from evaporation 
was determined. The looser soil will absorb more of the rain- 
fall and thus lessen the amount that runs off the surface. This 
is especially true of compact clay soil and those having consid- 
erable slope. Generally, but not always, the looser soil will hold 
the most water and retard its falling beyond the reach of the 
roots. Since the trials which have been made indicate that 
surface cultivation is better than no stirring, and since occa- 
sional stirring has given as good results as frequent stirring, 
the inference is that so far as the consei"vation of moisture is 
concerned the most important effect of stirring the soil is to 
enable it to absorb and hold the rainfall. 

315. Hilling afld Bedding. — Some throwing of the earth towards 
the row is often necessary in order to cover and destroy weeds. 
On all well-drained soils, hilling does not give any better results 

than level culture, and 
'"\ ''"■■' .-^p-'^oGE '''^p^x,/-^ when, in order to hill, 

WATER. ^^ ^ . . .. ^ , 1 4FT .^ ■ ■■■■. » WAfefS .... 

FugjRQw;-,. v„.> 7'',^^. ^uR-OTw ^ deep cultivation is 
« eFi- > 



Method of bedding for low wet land. (After Hartley.) 



practiced, then injury 
results. (312) On the 
poorly drained bottom lands of the Southern States bedding is 
practiced to give surface drainage. The Mississippi Station^ 
recommends that the beds be made eight feet wide or wide 
enough for two rows with water furrows in the alternate rows. 

1 Miss. Bui. T^T^. 



XV. 

MAIZE. 

WEEDS, FUNGOUS DISEASES AND INSECT ENEMIES. 

316. Weeds. — Maize differs from the other cereals in that 
the grain as it goes to market does not contain weed seeds, nor 
is there any danger of adding such seeds to the soil when the 
maize is planted. There are, therefore, no distinctive weeds of 
the maize crop, but weeds that chance to infest the soil may 
occur in the maize field. Fields are not infrequently cultivated 
in order that the cultivation incident to the maize may partially 
or wholly eradicate existing weeds. This, in fact, is one of the 
purposes of a systematic rotation of crops. Besides the injury 
that all weeds do, some are more troublesome than others, either 
through their tenacity, their immediate injury to the young maize 
plant, or through the inconvenience which their presence in- 
volves. Among the more troublesome weeds of the maize field 
may be mentioned : 

(1) Foxtail {Cliamoerafihis) . 

(2) Bindweed {Convohntlus). 

(3) Cocklebur {Xanthium canadense Mill., and X. spitwsum L.). 

(4) Spanish Needles (^Bidem bipinnata L., B.connata Muhl., and B.froudosa L.). 

317. Foxtail. — There are two species of foxtail; one known as Pigeon 
grass {Ckamoeraphis glauca (L.) Kuntze), and the other known as Bottle grass 
(Cliamocraphis viridis (L.) Porter). So far as actuall)' reducing the yield of grain is 
concerned, these foxtails are probably the worst weeds that infest the maize fields. 
They are annuals, varying from a few inches to two feet or more in heiglit, with 
dense spiked Iftads, yellow in Pigeon grass and green in Bottle grass. The heads 
are less dense and the bristles longer in the latter. Their abundance of seed, pro- 
duced almost under any environment, which is evidently stored in the soil for con- 
siderable periods, makes it almost, if not quite impossible, to eradicate it 
permanently. 

318. Bindweed. — There are a number of species belonging to the Morning 
Glory family which may infest cultivated fields; the most serious are the field 



244 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

bindweed (Convolvulus arve^tsis'L.), imported, and the hedge bindweed or morning 
g\oTy {Convolvulus sepium (L.) Willd.), native. Both are perennial vines, with ex- 
tensive vmderground stems, which make them practically impossible to eradicate. 
They may be greatly reduced by thorough cultivation. Where they are a serious 
pest, it is desirable to cultivate the field two years in maize, in order to reduce their 
injury to succeeding grain and grass crops. Good results have been obtained by 
using sorghum or rye as a smother crop. They do their chief injury by winding 
themselves about the cultivated plants. When a badly infested field is to be 
planted to maize, it is desirable to delay plowing until the weather is favorable for a 
rapid growth of maize. By this time the bindweeds will have started in the un- 
plowed land. By plowing and immediately planting, the maize will get well started 
before the bindweeds have recovered from the plowing. The land should be kept 
harrowed, so as to prevent, as far as possible, the growth of other weeds, until both 
maize and bindweeds have a good start. If the bindweeds are now cut off with a 
hoe, and the land thereafter kept cultivated in the usual manner, no further serious 
inconvenience will be experienced from the bindweeds. 

319. CoCKLEBUR is also a branching annual, belonging to the Aster and Daisy 
family. It grows from one to two feet high, and is especially distinguished for its 
large spiny burs, which are so serious an inconvenience by clinging to the bodies of 
our domestic animals. Each bur contains two seeds, only one of which grows the 
first year, the other remaining dormant until the second year, unless the plant of the 
first seed has been destroyed, when, as shown by McCluer, the second seed may ger- 
minate. The plants usually grow in such limited numbers that those which escape 
destruction through ordinary methods of cultivation may be pulled by hand. 

320. Spanish Needles, Stick-Tights, Beggar's Ticks. — These are 
branched annuals belonging to the Aster and Daisy family (Compositae), growing 
two to four feet high, with brown, thin, flat seeds, two to four downwardly barbed 
awns. These weeds do their principal damage by the seeds adhering to animals 
and clothing. Reasonably careful cultivation will destroy them. 

321. Fungous Diseases. — The more important fungi which 
attack the growing maize plant are as follows : 

(i) Maize smut {Ustilago zcae (Beckm.) Ung.). 

(2) The bacterial disease of dent maize {Bacillus cloacae Jordan). 

(3) The bacterial or wilt disease of sweet maize {Fseudomonas stewarti). 

(4) Maize rust {Puccim'a sor^/ii Schvf.). 

(5) The leaf blight fungus {Helminthosporiuni graminum Rab.). 

The maize smut is the only disease that has assumed any- 
widespread economic importance. 

322. Maize Smut differs from the smut of the other cereals in its mode and 
source of infection, making its appearance upon any part of the plant above ground ; 
although the ears and tassels are the portions chiefly infected. Formerly it was 
thought that infection was largely by means of smutty seeds. It is now pretty well 



DISEASES OF MAIZE 



245 



agreed that the jKincipal and perhaps the onl}' source of infection is from the flying 
conidia produced by tiie germination on the ground of tlie myriad spores of the smut 
boil. Warmth, moisture and soluble food material are very essential to the germina- 
tion of the spores and the spread of the disease. Naturally, therefore, as the season 
of active growtli progresses the conditions favorable to spore germination increase 
and the number of pustules is increased as the foliage, tassels and silk increase to 
afford a suitable matrix for the conidia. The abundance of silk and the great 
amount of nourishment in the grains explain the enormous development of the 
smut boils, which often attain the size of a man's head. The infection is purely 
local; the disease does not spread, as is shown by the appsarance of the smut 
boils at the point of infection two to three weeks after tlie conidia have made their 
entrance into the host. Thus, it is seen that infec- 
tion may take place at any time in the growing 
season, and the longer the season of growth, the 
greater the infection is likely to be. It is reported 
that sweet maize is more susceptible to the disease 
than the ordinary field maize ; estimates on the psr- 
centage of infection of the latter have been variously 
stated at from five-tenths to twenty-six per cent. It 
therefore follows that the extent of infection depends 
considerably upon five factors: (i) seasonal condi- 
tions, a rainy season tending to keep much of the 
conidia washed out of the air, while much dry 
weather is fatal to the germinative powers ; (2) the 
thickness of planting, the moisture held by the plants 
being increased as the foliage is multiplied; (3) the 
presence of decayed vegetable matter; (4) manure, 
which may be infested with spores; (5) the degree of maturity of the different 
parts of the plant. The only practical method of prevention, so far as kno\vn, is 
to gather all smut pustules as they appear, care being taken to prevent scattering 
the black powder (spores), two or three times in the growing season and destroy 
them by burning or placing in boiling water. Great care should be taken, also, in 
seemg that, as tar as possible, the manure for the maize field is free from spores. 
Experiments have shown that the hot water treatment used for smut of oats and 
wheat is of no avail in combating maize smut; this is explained by the fact that 
inoculation of the host comes not from the seed but from the flying conidia which 
alight upon the growing plant. Maize smut has been fed to cattle in numerous 
instances in large quantities for a considerable period of time without apparent 
injury. 1 

323. Bacterial Disease. — There has been observed in Illinois and other 
North Central States a bacterial disease of maize, which not only does consider- 
able damage to maize in some localities, but it is supposed that the germ which 
causes the disease in maize is able to cause a sudden and fatal disease in cattle, 

1 For detailed study of maize smut, see Ind. Rpt. 1899 (12), pp. 84-135; also 
Farmers' Bui. 69J Kan. Bui. 62; Ohio Bui. 78. 




Maizs smut boil. 



246 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



called the corn-stalk disease. The first indication of the disease is the dwarfed 
condition of the young plant. This commonly occurs in spots of various sizes, 
and is found in rich places, rather than in those of poorer quality. The young dis- 
eased plants, besides being smaller than the healthy ones, are uniformly yellowish 
in color, the lowest leaves showing worst. Affected plants are easily pulled from 
the ground on account of the death of the lower roots. The inner tissue of the 
lower part of the stalk has a uniform dark color, while on the surface there are 
brownish corroded spots. After midsummer the leaf-sheaths become spotted with 
various sized patches of a watery-brown, half rotten in appearance, which are most 
conspicuous from the inner surface. The ears are at least occasionally affected. 
Internally, in the worst stage, the whole ear is reduced to a moist state of corruption. 
Very often these ears subsequently become mouldy, penetrated through and through 
by a close, very white, felt-like fungus. These mouldy ears are, in certain seasons, 
very numerous, and are readily recognized by the husker. No remedy is known. 
There appears to be in a considerable number of cases more injury on land which 
has been planted with maize the preceding year. 

324. Bacterial Disease of Sweet Maize. — Plants affected by this dis- 
ease wilt and dry up very much like plants suffering from lack of moisture, except 
that there is little or no rolling of the leaves. Diseased plants are intermingled 
with healthy ones. The woody strands of the plant are filled with a multitude of 
short, yellow bacilli, which, when the stem is cut across, exude 
as a yellow viscid substance. The disease is confined to sweet 
maize, and is most destructive to early varieties. It is dissemi- 
nated chiefly by means of the germs which cling to the seed. No 
remedy is known. The principal measures of prevention are 
selection of seed and the planting of resistant varieties. 1 

325. Maize Rust is found wherever maize is grown, but 
principally in regions of considerable rainfall. The rust does not 
differ materially in appearance from rusts of other grasses, par- 
ticularly Pucchtia graminis of wheat and oats ; the surface of the 
affected leaf and sheath displays small oblong or elliptical spots, 
which contain reddish-brown spores. Kellerman has shown that 
only the uredo and teleuto stages may be included in the life 
cycle, although Arthur has identified the aecidial stage on oxalis. 2 
It passes the winter in the teleuto stage. Though fungicides are 
effective, the rust is of such little economic importance as not to 
warrant treatment. Pammel reports decreased yields of sweet 
maize due to the rust. The rust also occurs on sorghum and 
teosinte. 

326. The Leaf Blight Fungus has been reported in 
maize, causing extended or elliptical brown (dead) areas in the. 
leaf blades, not distinguishable by the unaided eye. The disease 
is of little economic importance. 

1 N. Y. (Geneva) Bui. 130. 

8 Botanical Gazette, July, 1904. 




Uredo stage or red 
rust on maize 
leaf. Disease 
produced by in- 
oculation by 
Kellerman 



ENEMIES OF MAIZE 



247 



327. Insect Enemies. — Two hundred and fourteen species 
of insects are known to be more or less injurious to the maize 
plant. Insect injuries are more common and more extensive in 
the Southern States than in the Northern States. Except, 
however, for those insects which attack the young plant and 
make replanting necessary, destruction of the crop is seldom 
complete. The larger number of the injuries to maize occur 
after plowing up grass land of long standing, or are due to con- 
tinuous culture of maize upon the same land several years in 
succession. Some of the insects also pass a portion of their 
life on or can use weedy plants for food. Generally, there- 
fore, the most effective remedies against insect attacks are short 
and systematic rotations, accompanied by clean culture of the 
maize field and the surrounding territory. Where the land is 
neither in grass nor maize more than two years in succession 
the attacks of insects are comparatively limited; except, per- 
haps, in the case of certain migratory insects, such as the chinch 
bug, locusts and army worms, whose increase in numbers has 
been brought about by special conditions. The insects of most 
economical importance to growing maize are as follows : 

(i) Wire worms {E later iJae), 

(2) Cutworms i^Noctuidae). 

(3) White grubs {Lachnosierfui spp.) 

(4) Corn root worms (Diabrotka longicornis Say and T). i2-ptmctata Oliv.). 

(5) Corn root web- worms (Cramhis spp.). 

(6) Corn root louse (Aphis tnaidi-radkis Forbes). 

(7) Corn bill bugs (Spheitophoms spp.) 

(8) Corn ear- worm (Heliothis armiger Hubn.). 

(9) Stalk borers {N'octuidae and Pyralidae). 
(lo) Chinch bug (B/issus leucopterus Say) (151). 

The insects most injurious to the stored grain are the same 
as those affecting stored wheat. (156) 

328. WiREWORMS are the larvae of the large family of click beetles or 
" Jumping Jacks," eight species of which are known to be injurious to maize. 1 The 
worms vary in length from one-half to one and one-quarter inches, have a hard, 

1 111. Bui. 44, p. 224- 



248 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 




Beetle and larva of wire- 
worm; enlarged two 
times. (After Forbes.) 



smooth, shining surface, varying in color from yellowish to reddish-brown. They 
pupate in July and August, and transform to beetles three or four weeks later. 
The beetles remain in the soil and emerge the following 
spring. Eggs are then laid in the earth in grass land, 
where they soon hatch, the larvae requiring at least two 
years to become fully grown. The larvae are very de- 
structive by attacking the seed in the ground before it is 
sprouted, and also by eating and boring the roots and 
stems of the young growing plant. The injury is likely 
to be greater the second year, after sod has been broken 
up. All cereal crops may be attacked. No successful 
remedy has yet been proposed, although fall plowing is 
believed to be helpful. When replanting injured maize 
it is customary to put the new seed between the attacked 
rows, which are left to stand as a food supply until culti- 
vation becomes necessary. 

329. Cutworms. — There are at least fourteen dis- 
tinct species of moths whose larvae have the cutworm 
habit. The life history of the different species, of course, 
varies somewhat, but in general their injuries and treatment are substantially the 
same. The moths lay their eggs upon the leaves of grasses in meadows and pas- 
tures and the larvae feed upon the growing vegetation. The fully grown cutworm 
is one and one-quarter inches to two inches long and varies in color with the species 
from dull brown to gray or green and is variously marked with longitudinal or obUque 
stripes and dashes and dots. The moths lay their eggs during midsummer and 
partially grown larvae pass the winter in the ground. Thus when grass lands, 
especially of long standing, are plowed up and planted to maize, the cutworms, 
being deprived of other vegetation, attack the young maize plants when only a few 
inches high, cutting them off just above the ground. The larvae pupate d-jring late 
spring and summer, some species on the fortieth parallel as early as the fourth week 
in May, thus permitting late planted maize to escape their attacks. Late fall plow- 
ing is measurably effective by disturbing and exposing the worms and by destroy- 
ing the food on which they would feed during spring. They may also be poisoned 
by a mixture of wheat bran, forty pounds ; molasses, two 
quarts ; paris green, one pound, mixed with enough water 
to moisten. A tablespoon of this mixture placed near 
each hill will attract the cutworms and prove fatal. 

330. White Grubs. — White grubs are the larvae of 
May beetles or June bugs, of which a number of species 
are known to attack maize. The beetles lay their eggs 
mostly during June in the earth, commonly in grass 
lands but not infrequently in maize land also. The eggs 
hatch in ten to eighteen days and the grubs are supposed to live over two full years, 
the complete life cycle being three years. White grubs do their injury by feeding 
upon the roots of the young maize plant, sometimes causing immediate destruction, 




White grub, about natural 
sire. (After Forbes.) 



ENEMIES OF MAIZE 249 

in other cases causing prolonged and a more or less partial injur)-. These grubs 
are also extremely destructive to grass lands, in some cases causing complete 
destruction of the sod. The adult beetles also frequently cause considerable injury 
by feeding upon the leaves of deciduous trees. No thoroughly satisfactory remedy 
has yet been proposed for this insect. 

331. CoRX Root Worms. — There are two species: the western com root 
worm and the southern corn root worm. The larva of the western corn root worm 
is two-fifths of an inch long, about as large as a pin, body somewhat cyUndrical, 
colorless, e.xcept the head, top of the first segment and a little patch on the last 
segment of the body, which are yellowish-brown. The injury is done by the larva, 
chiefly during July and August, by beginning in the tip of the maize root and work- 
ing towards the plant, devouring the inner portion of the root as it goes. It 
pupates in the earth among or near the roots of maize. The pupae emerge in 
August or September as grass-green beetles about one-fifth of an inch long and 
half as wide. The beetles feed upon the pollen, 

silks and in some cases upon the soft grains at ^^^jW'^^'^^^^^^^^^^/Y^^'^^^ 
the top of the ear, but usually the injury done by 

the beetle is trivial. The beetle lays clusters of Western corn root worm, enlarged 
c . J ... 1^.. - i- i. r three times. (After Forbes.) 

five to a dozen dirty-white eggs one-fortieth of an ^ ' 

inch long in the ground, one inch to six inches deep, about the maize plant during 
October and November. Only the eggs survive the winter, hatching in May and 
June. The southern com root worm is distinguished by the beetle being larger and 
having three transverse rows of four black spots on the wing covers. Since the 
larvae of these two species have no other host plant and since the eggs are usually 
laid about the hills of maize plants, a rotation of crops furnishes a simple and 
effective remedy for these insects. It is likewise destructive only in those sections 
where maize is cultivated on the same land several years in succession. 

332. Corn Root Web-Worms. — They are the larvae of at least five species 
of moths which lay their eggs among the grass in the summer, the larvae passing 
the winter in a half-gro\vn condition. They attack the young maize plant just 
above ground, and when not at work they remain in a silken web just underneath 
the ground at the base of the plant. The fully grown larva is about half an inch 
long, somewhat hairy, varying in color from brown to dirty white. They pupate 
about June first, on the fortieth parallel. They may also attack oats. 1 Their 
injuries to maize may be avoided by late planting. Ordinarily, injury is to be expected 
only where maize follows grass ; the longer the land has been in grass the greater the 
danger. 

333. Corn Root Louse. — All plant lice are enormously prolific. During the 
summer the wingless females of the corn root louse reproduce continuously, without 
the intervention of the males, living young which, when a few days old, also begin 
to multiply. Winged females appear from time to time and establish new colonies, 
while in the fall large numbers of individuals of both sexes appear. Generally the 
last brood lays eggs from which the spring brood is produced. Ants apparently 

1 Ohio Bui. 68, p. 48. 



250 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 




protect and care for the plant-lice in return for their secretions which they consume. 

They are held in check by carnivorous and parasitic insects. The corn root louse 

does its greatest injury to the young maize plant during May and June, causing the 

plant to wither and die by sucking its juices. 
Usually these attacks are in spots throughout 
the field and are likely to be most injurious 
during unfavorable weather conditions. The 
injury done by these insects is variable and fit- 
ful, owing, doubtless, to their great prolificacy 
and the enemies which keep them in check, 
so that remedial measures are usually of slight 
avail. The corn plant louse (Aphis maidis) 

Corn root louse on the left and its care- attacks the plant above ground, but it appears 
taker, the ant, on the right, both *» be less injurious than the corn root louse, 
enlarged. (After Forbes.) whose attacks are confined to the roots. 

334. Corn Bill Bugs. — Several species of bill bugs are known to be injurious 
to maize. The adults are black beetles one-fourth to three-fourths inch long, which 
do their damage by puncturing the stalks and the young leaves of maize as they 
are unfolding. Eggs are usually laid during the spring and summer and reach the 
pupal stage in about one month. In some species the larvae live in the interior 
of the stalk, bulb or roots of small grain or timothy, and in other cases in the maize 
plant itself. They pass the winter in the adult form. The damage is generally 
comparatively slight. There is no specific remedy. 

335. Corn Ear-Worm. — The larva, one and one-half inches long, varies in 
color from pale green to dark brown, is marked with longitudinal stripes of the same 
color, with eight round shining bl.ick spots on each segment of the body from which 
arise short hairs ; the head and neck are brown. It is two to seven-brooded, depend- 
ing upon the latitude! The last brood passes the winter in the pupal stage, emerging 
as a moth in the spring. In the Northern States the most destructive brood lays 
its eggs in the silk when the ears are young, and the larvae feed upon the grains at 
the tip of the ear, often doing great damage, not alone on account of the grain 
actually eaten, but also through subsequent decay by access of moisture and through 
destruction due to other insects. In the Southern States the earlier broods are also 
destructive by feeding upon the leaves and stalks. This insect is injurious to cotton 
by feeding upon the bolls ; hence is known as the boll worm. Disturbance of the 
pupa by late fall plowing or early spring plowing appears to be of some value, 
although no remedy has been found which is entirely efficient. 

336. Stalk Borers. — There are at least three species of insects which injure 
maize by boring in the stem, although they are often equally injurious to other 
plants, including weeds; namely, the stalk borer (Gortyna niiela Guen.),the smaller 
stalk borer (Pempelia lignosella Zeller) and the larger stalk borer {Diairaea saccharalis 
Fab.).l The most serious injury is usually done by the latter, which in the South 
Atlantic States occasionally amounts to twenty-five to fifty per cent of the crop. 



1 U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. Ent. Cir. 16, 2d Ser. 



ENEMIES OF MAIZE 25 1 

The larva is three-fourths inch long, white and marked with dark brown spots. It 
bores the stalks of young maize, seriously injuring it, and later bores into older 
stems, working down into the tap root, and passes the winter in the pupal stage in 
a channel about the surface of the ground or a little below. The moth issues in the 
spring, soon to lay eggs near the base of the leaves. It also attacks sugar cane 
and sorglnim, as well as gania or sesame grass ( Tripsacum Jactyloidcs), and conse- 
quently is more likely to be a dangerous pest near swampy lands, where this grass 
grows. Clean culture and systematic rotation of crops is a fairly effective remedy. 

OTHER ENEMIES. 

337. The Crow. — In many sections, especially where maize is planted near 
clumps of timber, the American crow {Corvus Americanus KviA^ pulls up and eats 
the young plant, often causing considerable damage. Most of the preventive 
measures recommended have for their basis methods of frightening the crows away 
until the plants are large enough to resist their attacks. Among these measures 
are the simple scarecrow, trapping the birds alive and keeping them tied in the 
field, and poisoning a few with maize grain soaked in strychnine as a warning. 
Coating the seed slightly with coal tar is sometimes quite effective. This may be 
done by dipping a wooden paddle into the hot liquid and then stirring it rapidly 
among the maize grains. There is some danger of decreasing the germination. It 
is generally conceded that except for this annual depredation the crow is useful to 
agriculture as a destroyer of insect pests. 

338. The American Blackbird (Agelaius phoenkeus Linn.) occasionally does 
somewhat serious damage by feeding upon grain while it is still soft. 

339. The Striped Prairie Squirrel {Spermophilns ij-Uneatits), G?,^c\7d\y 
in sections from Illinois westward, frequently makes replanting necessary by digging 
up and consuming the sprouting grain. Gillette has shown that injurious insects 
constitute a large proportion of its food. It is believed that these squirrels are not 
only beneficial to meadows and pastures, but to subsequent maize crops, because of 
their destruction of cutworms, wireworms, web-worms and similar insects. 



XVI. 

MAIZE. 



I. HARVESTING AND PRESERVATION. 

340. Harvesting. — Although there has been considerable 
progress in the harvesting of maize, no such profound changes 
have been made as those noted in the harvesting of the small 
grains. The larger part of the crop is still husked by hand 
from the standing plant and cattle allowed to roam over the 
husked fields to pick up neglected ears and nubbins, and to 

feed upon the leaves and husks. 

Attempts to husk the standing 

maize by machinery have not met 

with success. 




341. Storing. — After being 
husked, the ears of maize are 
stored in ventilated (slatted) bins, 
called cribs, in order that the ex- 
cess of moisture may evaporate 
before the grain is shelled. (233) 
While on the ear, the grain is not 
readily injured for feeding pur- 
poses by exposure to atmospheric 
conditions, but when shelled is subject to heating and molding, 
if not thoroughly air-dry. A difference of two per cent in 
moisture content may materially tnfluence the keeping quality 
of the shelled grain. 

When maize is stored in the ear, it is particularly subject 
to attacks from rats and mice because of the facility with which 
these vermin may pass between the ears. Special precautions 



Maize harvester and shocker; shock is 
built upon the platform by the ma- 
chine, after which it is raised by the 
derr'ck and placed upon the ground, 
out of the way of the machine on its 
next round. 



HARVESTING OF MAIZE 



253 



should be taken to reduce their ravages to a minimum by raising 
the bottom of the crib from the ground, thus reducing their 
hiding places as well as giving access to cats and dogs. 

342. Maize Fodder. — In the North Atlantic and Southern 
States, and in portions of the North Central States, most of the 
maize is cut and put into shocks or 
into the silo. This cutting may be, 
and for the most part still is, done 
by means of a corn knife, although 
the corn cutter and the corn har- 
vester are both largely used, the 
latter especially where maize is cut 
for the silo. A machine has recently 
been invented which cuts and shocks 
the maize at one operation, but its 
use has not yet become general. 

From 5x7, or thirty-five hills, to 
12x12, or 144 hills, are placed in 
a single shock. The lesser quantity 
is common in the North Atlantic 
States, where, according to the Con- 
necticut Station, it is more difficult to preserve flint stover, 
while ten hills square, or 324 shocks per acre, is the common 

amount in the North Cen- 
tral States. A common 
method is to tie four hills 
together without cutting 
them off and then to 
shock the rest of the 
plants around these; while 
in other cases a wooden 
horse is used as a temporary support. When the shock is com- 
pleted, a light rope with a hook on one end is used to draw the 
top of the shock together, when it is tied with twine or in some 




Husking rolls of maize husker and 
shredder. 




Maize harvester. Cuts and binds plants into bun- 
dles, which may afterwards be put into shocks; 
also very useful in harvesting maize for silage. 



254 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



cases with a stalk of maize. After the plant has become cured, 
which usually takes about a month, the shocks are generally 

husked by hand in the field, the 
stover tied into bundles ; the 
four hills which had been used 
for supports are cut off and 
bound with the rest of the 
stover. These bundles are 
again shocked and the shocks 
tied, or the stover is hauled 
directly to the barn and stored. 
It is necessary to choose suitable weather conditions, since if 
the plants are too dry, the leaves will fall off and be lost, while 
extremely wet weather would be equally injurious. 




Maize cutter. Blade on each side severs 
stalks while men riding upon the machine 
gather them together and shock them. 
Two rows may be cut at one time, or, 
raising one blade, only one row. 



i'S^'c^ 




Methods of cutting maize by hand. A, wooden horse used to support stalks while shock Is 
being built ; B, four hills used as support for shock when wooden horse is not used ; C, 
rope with hook for drawing shock together prior to tying with string shown at A I ; D, maize 
knife used in North Central States; E, maize knife used in North Atlantic States 



HARVESTING OF MAIZE 255 

The husker and shredder, which has now come into con- 
siderable use, eUminates the labor of husking and puts the 
stover in a condition to be easily handled. It may be stored in 
the barn or even put into a stack, but in order to keep, the 
stover must be thoroughly dry at the time of husking. Itinerant 
machines go from farm to farm in many localities husking either 
by the day or at a fixed price per bushel. Threshing machines 
have sometimes been used for threshing maize fodder. The 
chief objection to the threshing machine is that it shells the 
grain, which at that time usually contains too much moisture to 
be stored in this manner. 

Where beef cattle are fattened, the maize fodder, generally 
called "shocked corn," is fed without being husked, thus sup- 
plying concentrated food and roughage at the same time. 

343. Topping. — Removing that part of the culm or stalk 
above the ears instead of cutting and shocking the whole plant 
has been somewhat widely practiced in both the North and 
South Atlantic States. 

The Pennsylvania Station^ found that by topping, 1,050 
pounds of stover were obtained at a loss of 540 pounds of ear 
maize, as compared with allowing the maize to ripen and 
merely gathering ears. Mississippi Station,^ as the result of 
three years' trials, found a net loss in feeding value of more 
than twenty per cent. Seven other stations show an average 
loss of thirteen bushels per acre, which was "more than the 
feeding value of the 'fodder' secured." At the Arkansas 
Station,' neither topping nor pulling reduced the yield of grain 
so much as cutting and shocking the whole plant when ears 
were just past the roasting-ear stage, as shown in the following 
table : 

1 Penn. Rpt. 1891, pp. 58-60. 

2 Miss. Bui. 33 (1S95), p. 63. 

3 Ark. Bui. ^ (1893), P- 121. 



256 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

Effect of Method of Harvesting Maize. 



Method of treatment 



Left natural 
Topped above ear 
Leaves stripped . 
Stalks cut and shocked 



Pounds 
per acre 


Pounds 

loss per 

acre 


1,241 


.... 


1,224 


17 


1,102 


138 


1,07s 


166 



Bushels 
per acre 



22 1-7 

21 5-7 
195-7 

■1 1-5 



344. Pulling. — Throughout the Southern States there is a 
tendency for the leaves of maize to dry up before the ears are 
mature, and it has been the custom to strip the leaves from the 
culms while they are still green and the ears immature. 

" Fodder pulling is effected according to latitude and season from the first of 
August to the middle or even the last of September. When the operator's hands 
are full of blades and he can hold no more, the quantity is termed a ' hand,' and is 
bound rapidly with a twist and hung on a broken stalk to cure. On gr.thering a 
day or so later, from three to four hands form a ' bundle,' which is, also, bound with 
a few twisted blades. The bundle weighs from one and three-fourths to two pounds 
and forms the staple ' roughage ' of southern draft stock." 1 

At least eight stations in the Southern States have investigated 
the influence of this practice on the yield of grain, and in gen- 
eral report a decrease of from ten to twenty per cent. The 
earlier the work was done, the greater the loss. Redding^ con- 
cludes that " pulling fodder " is only expedient under the most 
favorable circumstances, but where it is resolved to do so, the 
best practice is to strip the blades, from and including the ear- 
blade, downward, at about the usual time of pulling, and in a 
week or ten days to cut off stalks above the ear. Besides adding 
largely to yield of stover, it is believed to be more expeditious. 

The Florida Station ^ reports that " pulling fodder " has the 
effect of loosening the husks on the ear before the grains 
become hard, thus promoting the ravages of the weevil. 

1 The Book of Corn, p. 169. 

2 Ga. Bui. 23 (1893), pp. 81-82. 

3 Fla. Bui. 16 (1892), p. 8. 



PRESERVATION OF MAIZE 



257 



345. Silage. — Probably the most important change that has 
been made in the handling of the maize plant in the last quarter 
of a century is the practice of putting the unripened plant cut 
into small pieces by a feed cutter into a receptacle with air-tight 
sides and bottom, called a silo. The essential value of this 
process, aside from economical farm management, lies in the 
greater palatability of silage as compared with maize fodder. 
Experiments show the digestibility of silage and maize fodder 
to be about equal when all other conditions except method of 
preserving remain the same. A large number of American 
feeding experiments, mostly with milch cows, show, in general, 
about equal food value for amount of dry matter consumed, but 
that ordinarily there is less waste in the consumption of silage, 
thus adding to the total returns per acre, and that a rather higher 
rate of feeding can be maintained with silage, thus adding to 
the daily production of butter fat. 

346. The Silo. — A silo should have air-tight bottom and 
sides and should be constructed in such a manner and of such 
materials as to be durable, protect the silage from freezing, and 
afford ventilation. Its sides should 

be perpendicular, rigid, with inner 
surface smooth. The efficiency of 
the silo will depend, also, upon its 
size and shape. The more com- 
pact the silage, the better it keeps. 
The greater its diameter and the 
more nearly circular the silo, the 
less the resistance of the sides to 
packing. The deeper the silo, the 
more compact the silage, and the 
less the surface exposure in pro- 
portion to the whole mass. A silo should never be less than 
twenty-four feet deep, thirty feet is very much better, and forty 
feet is desirable where practicable and the capacity desired 




A modern stave silo. 



258 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

warrants it. The surface area of the silo should be such that 
the silage will be fed rapidly enough to prevent decay. It 
should never be more than ten square feet per cow, five is 
better ; while seven and a half gives good results. 

The riper the silage, the less weight the silo will hold. The 
higher the silo and the greater the diameter, the more weight 
the silo will hold. The weight and keepmg quality will depend 
also upon the manner of filling. The material should be evenly 
distributed and the silage next the sides of the silo thoroughly 
packed by tramping in order to overcome resistance offered by 
the sides. The more slowly the silo is filled, the more it will 
hold. A silo sixteen feet in diameter and thirty feet high will 
hold, when continuously filled with suitably ripened maize, 
about thirty-three and a third pounds of silage per cubic foot, 
or about 100 tons of silage. A cubic foot of such silage is a 
standard daily ration for a cow in milk. The capacity of the 
silo required may be calculated in cubic feet by multiplying the 
number of animals to be fed by the days of feeding desired. 
Twelve tons of suitably ripened maize per acre is a good yield ; 
eight to ten tons per acre is a safer estimate when calculating 
the land to be planted in order to fill the silo. 

347. Losses in the Silo. — Babcock and Russell ^ have shown 
that the changes which take place in the silage are not wholly 
due to bacteria, but partly, at least, to the respiratory activity of 
the yet living protoplasm of the plant tissue. The loss due to 
respiratory activity was shown to amount to about one per cent 
of the total weight of the silage, and was due to the carbonic 
acid (COo) gas evolved. King has shown that the unavoidable 
losses may amount to from two to four per cent.^ These are 
the losses in feeding value which cannot be prevented with a 
silo of the very best construction, filled in the best possible 
manner. The losses not due to respiratory activity are due to 

1 Wis. Rpt. 1 90 1, pp. 177-184. 

2 Wis. Bui. 83 (1900), p. 64. 



PRESERVATION OF MAIZE 259 

fermentative processes. What the losses are in general prac- 
tice cannot be accurately stated. Different stations have fre- 
quently reported losses of twenty per cent. It is probable that, 
with the proper constmction and filling of the silo, and begin- 
ning to feed as soon as filled, the loss will not exceed ten to 
twelve per cent. 

348. Loss of Maize Fodder by Curing. — Experiments at the 
Wisconsin, Vermont^ and Pennsylvania^ Stations show a loss 
of nineteen to twent}^-one per cent of the dry matter of maize 
fodder from field curing. Maize fodder cut when nearly ripe 
lost about five per cent more than fodder cut when maize was 
in the roasting-ear stage, evidently due to the large amount of 
soluble carbohydrates in the former. (351) The loss, when 
stored in the barn October 29th, was one per cent greater than 
when allowed to stand in the field until December i8th. Ears 
cured upon the stalk with as little loss of dry matter (eight to 
ten per cent) as if picked and dried, but when put in the silo 
the loss of dry matter in grain was considerably greater. While 
not economical on account of labor involved, the loss of dry 
matter could apparently be reduced somewhat by husking ears 
and placing only the remaining portion in the silo. The losses 
of the maize plant, both in field curing and ensiling, are largely 
in the carbohydrates other than fiber. 

349. Time of Harvesting will depend upon whether the 
maize is grown for ears alone; for both ears and stover or 
fodder ; or whether for silage. When grown for the ears alone, 
the plant is not only allowed to ripen, but the ears allowed to 
remain on the standing stalks until they have become drj^ 
enough to be placed in storage, which usually requires about a 
month after maize is ripe, or after the first killing frost. When 
stover is to be harvested, it is customary and desirable to allow 

1 Vt. Rpt. 1S94, p. 171. 
i Penn. Rpt. 1892, p. 43. 



26o 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



the plant to become as ripe as is possible without the leaves 
falling off before or during the operation of shocking. The 
ears should be all, or nearly all, dented or glazed, the husks 
dry, and the leaves from one-third to one-half green. When cut 
for silage, it is necessary to cut a little greener in order that the 
mass may pack and sufficiently exclude the air. This condi- 
tion is reached when many, but not all, the ears have become 
dented, a portion of the husks dry, and the bottom three or four 
leaves dry, with the rest still green. On the other hand, up to 
this stage of maturity, the greener the maize the greater the loss 
in the silo. 

There are six advantages in allowing the plant when intended 
for silage to arrive at the stage of maturity indicated : (i) 
greater yield of water-free substance ; (2) less weight to handle ; 
(3) less loss in silo; (4) superior composition; (5) greater 
digestibility ; (6) greater palatability ; resulting in a greater 
feeding value per acre at less cost. The following table shows 
the influence of maturity upon weight of fresh and dry sub- 
stance and loss in the silo : 





Gr. matter 

per acre 

lb. 


Dry matter 


Dry matter 
in silage ; 
loss per 


Condition of 
maize 


Date 


Per acre 


Per cent 






lb. 


gr. fed. 


acre lb. 




Aug. 10 


19,200 


2,672 


13-1 


752 


In full tassel 


Aug. 16 


20,800 


3.144 


15. 1 


502 


Maize in silk 


Aug. 22 


21,840 


3,712 


17.4 


305 


Grains fully formed 


Aug. 28 


19,200 


3,744 


19.5 


288 


Grains in milk 


Sept. 3 


16,960 


3,824 


22.5 


195 


Grains still in milk 


Sept. 9 


16,400 


4,168 


25-3 


188 


Grains past milk 


Sept. 14 


14,720 


4,536 


30.8 


125 


Maize glazed 



350. Influence of Maturity Upon Yield. — There is no relation 
between the apparent size of the maize plant, as, for example, 
height, and the weight of dry matter. When the plant is in full 



PRESERVATION OF MAIZE 26 1 

tassel it has reached from one-third to one-half its development, 
measured in weight of water-free substance. When the plant 
has reached the roasting-ear stage, three-fourths to four-fifths of 
the dry matter has developed, and when in condition to be put 
into the silo, from three-fourths to nine-tenths of its dry matter 
has developed.^ 

Neither is there any relation between rate of growth in height 
and the development of water-free substance. The greatest rate 
of growth in height precedes that of the development of dry 
matter. The total yield of grain increases up to full maturity. 
The yield of the whole plant has in some instances been found 
to decrease slightly in weight of water-free substance during the 
last one or two weeks, doubtless due to loss of leaves. The 
plant, exclusive of the ear, may decrease materially from trans- 
location of material to the grain. The Iowa Station ^ found a 
decrease of dry matter in the plant exclusive of the ear to be 
seventeen per cent of dry matter from the time ears were mostly 
dented, but leaves and husks all green, until the plant was 
entirely ripe, requiring a period of three weeks. The circum- 
stances surrounding the experiment lead to the inference that 
this loss represents a translocation of material to grain, although 
it may have been due in part to loss of material through dropping 
of leaves or otherwise. 

351 . Influence of Maturity Upon Composition. — In those grasses 
and other fodder plants in which the proportion of seed to whole 
plant is small and the seeds are of low digestibility a deteriora- 
tion in the plant as a food for domestic animals begins before the 
plant reaches full maturity, both from a translocation of the 
material to the seeds and the loss of leaves and other finer parts. 
Analyses under these circumstances usually show an increased 
percentage of crude fiber and a decreased percentage of protein. 
When fed to domestic animals, the riper the product is, the less 

1 111. Bui. 31, p. 361 ; Mich. Bui. 154, p. 283; Cornell Bui. 4, p. 52. 
* Iowa Bui. 21, p. 778. 



262 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



palatable and the less digestible it is. In the case of the maize 
plant, however, it has been found that not only does the total 
amount of dry matter increase, but the quality of the product 
increases up to or nearly up to the stage of complete maturity. 
There is an opportunity for the maize plant to lose its leaves if 
entire maturity is allowed, the extent of which depends upon 
weather conditions. On the other hand, the increase in the per 
centage of starch and of soluble carbohydrates is rapid during 
the latter stages of maturity coincident with the development of 
the ear, which constitutes so large a part of the M^hole plant and 
which is so completely digested by domestic animals. The 
result is that there is a decrease in the per cent of crude fiber 
as the maize plant ripens. The following analyses made at the 
Maine Station illustrate what in a general way has been verified 
by many stations : ^ - 

Composition of Maize at Different Stages of Maturity. 

IN ONE HUNDRED PARTS WATER-FREE SUBSTANCE. 



Stage of growth 


Ash 


Protein 


Crude 
f^ber 


Sugar 


Starch 


Total 

N-free 

ext. 


Fat 


Very immature, Aug. 
















15 . . . 


9-3 


15.0 


26.5 


11.7 




46.6 


2.6 


A few roasting-ears, 
















Aug. 28 


6.5 


11.7 


233 


20.4 


2.1 


55.6 


2.9 


All roasting stage, 
















Sept. 4 


6.2 


11.4 


19.7 


20.6 


4.9 


597 


3-0 


Some ears glazing. 
















Sept. 12 


5.6 


9.6 


19.3 


21. 1 ' 


5-3 


62.5 


30 


All ears glazed,Sept. 
















21 . . . 


5-9 


9.2 


i,S.6 


16.5 


15.4 


63-3 


3-0 



352, Influence of Maturity Upon Digestibility. — A summary 
of American digestion experiments shows that both in the case 

1 Me. Rpt. 1893, pt. 2, p. 25. 

2 W. H. Jordan: The Feeding of Animals, p. 211. 



PRESERVATION OF MAIZE 



263 



of silage and maize fodder the digestibility is higher after glaz- 
ing or denting than before : 

Digested from One Hundred Parts Organic Matter.^ 





Maize fodder 


Maize silage 




Max. 


Min. 


Av. 


Max. 


Min. 


Av. 


Cut before glazing, 13 experi- 
ments ..... 

Cut after glazing, 10 experi- 
ments 


714 
74.2 


53-6 
61.2 


65.7 
70.7 


77.8 
80.2 


56.6 
65.2 


67.4 
73-6 



Armsby^ found that the total digestible food of the fully 
mature crop was from two to three times as great as the same 
variety in the silking stage and thirty-six per cent greater than 
at the time the ears were glazing, 

353. Influence of Maturity Upon Feeding Value. — The Penn- 
sylvania Station" and the Ohio State University* have determined 
the feeding value, when fed to milch cows, of equal areas of 
maize fodder when cut in the roasting-ear, silage stage, and when 
ripe or nearly so. In both cases the food value from equal 
areas measured in milk produced and increase or decrease of 
live weight was greatest in the intermediate stage. Compared 
with the earlier cutting, the intermediate stage gave much the 
best results, while compared with the late cutting, the difference 
was.not so marked. The weight of field cured fodder increased 
with the stage of ripeness, the increase being greatest during 
the first interval. The percentage eaten, the fodder having 
been prepared with a feed cutter, was least in both instances 
in the early cut, greatest in one case in the medium cut and in 
the other instance in the late cut. 

1 W. H. Jordan : The Feeding of Animals, p. 212. 

2 Penn. Rpt. 1892, p. 23. 
8 Penn. Rpt. 1892, p. 34. 

* D. A. Crowner, Thesis, 1896. 



264 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



II. USES AND PREPARATION FOR USE. 

354. Food for Domestic Animals — The chief use of the maize 
crop is as a food for domestic animals. In connection with 
grass it is the meat producing material of the United States. 
The wonderful development of our pork industiy is directly 
related to our maize crop. Sir John Lawes once said that the 
natural food of the civilized hog was barley meal. Had he 
lived in America, he would have said that the ears of maize 
are the natural food of the civilized hog. Maize silage forms 
an important element in the production of dairy products and 
its grain is largely used as a food for horses. 

The food value of the grain of maize lies in its high net 
available energy due to its high percentage of easily digestible 
carbohydrates and fat and the absence of any deleterious sub- 
stance. The plant other than the ear, whether green, ensiled 
or dry, is a palatable and healthful food for horses and rumi- 
nants, the dry matter being more digestible than that of timothy 
or clover hay. When properly prepared, the food value of the 
dry matter is rather less, and when the grain is added, rather 
more than that of timothy hay. The digestible nutrients in the 
grain and stover are about as two to one. The proportionate 
food value, however, is greater in the grain on account of its 
greater net available energy. 

355. Food for Human Consumption. — While of less relative 
importance as a food for man, the actual amount of maize thus 
used is large. In the Southern States, where the proportion of 
maize to wheat grown is larger than in the Northern States, the 
grain of maize forms a large portion of the dietary of all classes. 
The meal, prepared by simply single grinding, either bolted 
or unbolted, is made into various forms of bread and cakes, 
without yeast or other leavening processes. Compared with 
products of wheat flour, the products of maize meal are less 
digestible, probably on account of the hull and the coarser 



USES OF MAIZE 265 

grinding. They are in every way, however, healthful and 
desirable articles of diet. 

Hominy is prepared in the household by soaking the grains 
in the lye of wood ashes (KHO), which removes the hull, and 
also by hominy mills, which remove the hulls by a milling 
process. In the milling process of producing hominy the germ 
is more or less completely removed, thus adding to the keeping 
quality of the hominy, but somewhat lowering the per cent of 
protein. The maize grain is also used in some of the so-called 
breakfast foods other than hominy. These are low in protein and 
fat and high in carbohydrates, as compared with maize grain or 
meal, or with breakfast foods made from wheat or oats. 

The ears of sweet maize are boiled when the grain is in the 
milk and eaten out of hand, forming a well-known and palatable 
article of diet. Experiments have been successfully conducted 
at the New Hampshire Station^ in raising sweet maize under 
glass in order to furnish roasting ears out of season. " Canned 
corn," made by removing the grains of sweet maize when at 
this stage, placing in quart cans and subjecting to high heat, 
both before and after sealing, is the basis of an extensive 
industry. The mature sweet maize is also eaten parched. 

356. Manufactured Products. — Glucose, starch, alcohol, 
whisky and malt liquors are also made from the grain of maize. 
Two forms of " corn starch" are made, one used in laundry 
work to stiffen cotton cloth and the other used for human con- 
sumption. The pith of the stems is used in the manufacture of 
explosives and for packing the sides of war vessels because of 
its property upon being pierced of quickly swelling and prevent- 
ing ingress of water. The stems are used in the manufacture 
of paper and the husks for mats and mattresses. 

357. By-Products. — The use of the maize plant in the man- 
ufacture of the above products has resulted in a large number 

1 N. H. Bui. 60 (1899). 



266 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

of by-products. This is especially true in the manufacture of 
starch and glucose, where oil (262), gum, dextrine, rubber sub- 
stitutes, germ oil meal, gluten meal, bran and gluten feed 
(mixture of gluten meal and maize bran) form important by- 
products. Distillers' grains are a by-product in the manufacture 
of alcohol, spirits and whisky and brewers' grains in the manu- 
facture of beer. (466) Both distillers' and brewers' grains 
usually contain a mixture of several grains, commonly maize, 
barley and rye. Over twenty million bushels of grain, mostly 
maize, are used annually in the distilleries of the United States. 
The annual output of distillers' dried grains exceeds forty 
thousand tons and is largely exported to Germany for cattle 
feeding. 

" There are quite generally three grades made, one from the distillation of alco- 
hol and spirits, a second from the distillation of bourbon whiskey and a third from 
that of rye whiskey. The first named is the higher in feeding value, and is most 
apt to be of even quality, corn being the main, and, sometimes, the only grain used. 
The other grades vary in their composition in proportion to the relative proportion 
of corn, rye and malt used in the mashes ; the more the corn and the less the 
smaller grains, the better the grade of the product." l 

Gluten feed and distillers' and brewers' grains form accept- 
able foods for milch cows where large percentages of protein 
are required, and germ oil meal is especially desirable for calves 
and pigs where higher percentages of ash and fat unaccompanied 
with fiber are desirable. The by-products of glucose and starch 
factories are obtained by mechanical processes and the com- 
position of each is rather uniform. The by-products of dis- 
tilleries and breweries are the result of fermentative proc- 
esses and may vary considerably in composition. Hominy 
feed is a by-product in the manufacture of hominy and differs 
from the original grain principally in containing a larger 
proportion of hull and embryo. The by-product in the man- 
ufacture of " cerealine " breakfast foods is known as cerealine 
feed. 

1 Vt. Rpt. 1903, p. 238. 



USES OF MAIZE 



267 



When the pith is removed for the manufacture of explosives 
or packing for war vessels, the remainder, which may or may 
not include also the husks and blades, is ground into a coarse 
meal and is sold as "the new corn product." The Maryland 
Station ^ found it more digestible than timothy hay, for which it 
was successfully used as a substitute in feeding horses. 

The following table gives analyses of by-products of maize 
used as food for domestic animals: 





Water 


Ash 


Protein 
(NX6.25) 


Crude 
fiber 


Nitrogen- 
free extract 


Fat 


Gluten meal 


9.2 


I.I 


36-9 


2.2 


46.7 


3-9 


Maize bran 


9.1 


1-3 


9.9 


I2.I 


62.0 


5.6 


Gluten feed 


8.5 


1.2 


257 


67 


53-5 


4.4 


Germ oil meal . 


9.1 


2.6 


23.0 


9.0 


45.6 


10.7 


Hominy feed 


9-3 


2-7 


1 1.2 


4-5 


637 


8.6 


Cerealine feed . 


10.2 


2.6 


II. 2 


4.6 


633 


8.1 


Distillers' grains 2 


8.8 


2.4 


35-0 


12. 1 


304 


"•3 


New corn product 


S.s 


54 


6.5 


^l-7> 


49-3 


2.9 



1 Md. Bui. 51 (1897), p. 31. 

- XXXX alcohol grains (mostly maize). \'t. Rpt. 1903. 



XVII. 

MAIZE. 



I. PRODUCTION AND MARKETING. 

358. Maize Crop of the World. — The production of maize in 
the world has varied during the years 1898 to 1902, inclusive, 
from 2,363 million bushels (1901) to 3,183 million bushels 
(1902) per annum, the average yearly production being 2,747 
million bushels, which is slightly less than the production of 
wheat during the same period. 

The following table gives the average annual production for 
half decade by continents in million bushels : 





1898 to 1902, inclusive 


Europe 


471 


North America 


. 2,149 


South America 


86 


Australasia . 


9 


Africa .... 


. • . 32 


Total 


. 2,747 



Aside from the United States, the most important maize 
producing countries are Hungary, Roumania, Italy, Russia, 
Mexico, Argentina and Egypt. Great Britain, Ireland, Ger- 
many and the countries farther north do not raise maize, except 
occasionally as a vegetable, on account of lack of heat and sun- 
shine during the growing season. During the past five years 
the production of maize has developed more rapidly in Argen- 
tina than elsewhere. Argentina appears to have the largest 
body of undeveloped land adapted to raising maize of any 
country. 



PRODUCTION OF MAIZE 



269 



359. Maize in the United States. — One-fifth of the area in 
improved land, one-third the area in crops of all kinds, except 
pasture, and one-half the area in cereal crops is devoted to 
raising maize. In 1899, while thirty -five per cent of the farms 
in the United States raised wheat, eighty-two per cent raised 
maize. 

The average annual production of maize in the United States 
for three decades, according to the estimates of the United 
Slates Department of Agriculture, is given below : 





1870-79 


1880-89 


1890-9) 


Area, acres . . . • 


44,000,000 


71,000,000 


76,000,000 


Yield, bushels . . . • 


1,184,000,000 


1,703,000,000 


1,835,000,000 


Value, dollars .... 


505,000,000 


669,000,000 


610,000,000 


Value per bushel, dollars . 


043 


0-39 


0-35 


Yield per acre, bushels 


27.1 


24.1 


24.1 


Value per acre, dollars 


11.54 


9.48 


8.44 



The estimates of the United States Department of Agricul- 
ture make it appear that the average annual production during 
the ninety decade was only slightly larger than the eighty decade, 
while the census returns indicate that in 1899 the acreage was 
thirty-two per cent and the production twenty-six per cent 
greater than in 1889. The average gross value of an acre of 
maize has been less during all the decades than that of wheat, 
though in the decline in value of both crops per acre, that of 
wheat has been more rapid than maize, which would seem to 
indicate that maize is relatively increasing in value. While in 
fifty years the production of wheat has increased six and one-half 
times, that of maize has increased four and one-half times, 

360. Maize Surplus States. — Over one-half of the entire 
maize crop of the United States is contributed from five States, 
and over two-thirds from seven States, in the following order : 
Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio. 



270 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

These seven States are known as the maize surplus States, 
because they are practically the only States which supply the 
commercial centers with maize. Notwithstanding the fact that 
over ninety per cent of the entire crop was limited to twenty- 
one States, outside of these seven surplus States, maize is 
largely consumed where raised. Other States besides the 
seven named, therefore, need not be taken into consideration in 
the commerce of this crop, except as they need more or less 
from the surplus States for consumption. Although the tendency 
of maize production is to concentrate in areas affording the 
greatest natural advantages, and although the seven just named 
will continue for years to be the surplus States, statistics show 
that other States that do not make a business of maize .raising, 
notably those on the Atlantic seaboard, are in recent years making 
greater relative gains in maize production. 

361. Center of Maize Production. — During the last half cen- 
tury the center of maize production has moved from southeast- 
ern Ohio to southwestern 

v^r.,^ /^> Illinois (90° 27' 6" W. 

/ * "• bbcmh^Sm W Long., and 39° 19' 33" N. 

Lat.), nearly due west 
480 miles. The west- 
ward movement of wheat 
has been one-half faster. 
While maize has moved 

Map showing the distribution of maize produced in nOrthward Onlv about fivC 
the United States in I 900. -i 1 1 

miles, wheat has moved 
northward ninety-nine miles. For twenty years the center of 
maize production has been nearly stationary. 

362. Production per Population. — The production of maize 
has increased more rapidly than population during the past fifty 
years. It is estimated, however, that the number of bushels of 
maize per capita retained for consumption in the United States 
was more in the decade 1880-89 than- in the succeeding decade, 




PRODUCTION OF MAIZE 



271 




being 28. 6 bushels per capita in the former and 25.5 bushels in 
the latter. This is the heaviest rate of consumption of any cereal 

by any people in 

!B50 I860 1670 I880 Ifi90 I900 -' J I k 

iii|iiifiHlifi-|}l 



the world. It is 
nearly twice as 
much according 
to population as 
the consumption 
of all the cereals 



in Europe. 

363. Yield per 
Acre. — The aver- 
age yield of maize 

, .u ■ -.u J .• . grain during the 

Diaeram showing the increase in the production of maize as " ° 

compared with the population in the United States during laSt tWO dcCadcS 
fifty years, according to the reports of the census of 1900. ,„„ c twpntv fniir 

and one-tenth bushels, — nearly twice that of wheat. There 
are several Southern States in which the annual yield is less 
than ten bushels per acre. In the seven surplus maize States 
the annual yield of maize is thirty-five bushels per acre. In 
these States nothing less than fifty bushels per acre is con- 
sidered satisfactory by progressive farmers, and yields of 
seventy-five to ninety bushels per acre are not at all uncommon ; 
while yields of more than loo bushels per acre are frequently 
reported. 

364. Export of Maize. — While a much smaller percentage 
of the maize raised is exported than of wheat, the amount is 
large and is increasing. But for the great shortage of the maize 
crop of 1901, the average annual exportation of maize for the 
five years 1898- 190 2 would have shown an enormous increase 
over that of the five years 1893-1897. Notwithstanding this 
great decrease, which makes the exportation of maize in 1902 
by far the smallest for the ten years 1S93-1902, the total expor- 
tation for the five years given shows substantial gains over any 



272 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



Other five years preceding. The total exportation for the five 
years 1898-1902 was approximately 160 million bushels of grain, 
while that of the five years immediately preceding was but little 
more than half that amount, — something less than eighty-three 
million bushels. 

Ninety-two per cent of this great export trade is handled 
by nine ports, named in the order of their importance, as 
follows : Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans, 
Boston, Newport News, Chicago, Norfolk and Portsmouth, and 
Detroit. 

The export trade in maize meal is also fast assuming large 
proportions. The average annual exportation of this product 
for the five years 1898-1902 was nearly 800 thousand barrels 
(3,200,000 bushels), more than twice that for the years 1893- 
1897. New York, Newport News and Baltimore, in the order 
named, handled the bulk of this trade. ^ 

The important importing countries have been Great Britain 
and Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Canada, Denmark, Belgium 
and France. Cuba has imported more than a million bushels 
of grain annually during the five years 1898-1902. Other 
countries which export important quantities of maize are 
Argentina, Roumania and Russia. 

365. Marketing. — The legal weight per bushel of maize in 
most States is fifty-six pounds per bushel, although the usual 




Types of shellers for farm use : A, one-hole hand sheller; B, two-hole power shellerj 
C, itinerant power sheller, made with four to eight holes for feeding in the ears. 

1 U. S. Statistical Abstract, 1902, pp. 301-303. 



MARKETING OF MAIZE 273 

custom well understood in many localities between seller and 
buyer is sixty pounds per bushel. A large portion of the maize 
delivered to the country elevator is in the ear, where it is usu- 
ally shelled before shipping. In most States the legal weight 
per bushel of maize on the ear is seventy pounds, although it is 
sixty-eight pounds in a number of States. In some localities, 
custom requires that a larger number of pounds be given for 
new maize until a given date, say eighty pounds per bushel 
until December first. 

366. Commercial Grades. — The system of inspection for maize 
is the same as that for wheat and other grains. As in wheat, 
soundness, plumpness and mixture of foreign substances or of 
maize of different color fix the grade. The weight of measured 
bushels does not enter into the determination of the grade. The 
Illinois Board of Railroad and Warehouse Commissioners recog- 
nizes the following classes and grades : 

Yellow maize, Nos. i, 2 and 3. 
White maize, Nos. i, 2 and 3. 
Maize, Nos. i, 2, 3 and 4. 

Usually in the Chicago market, more maize is dealt in than 
yellow and white combined, and much more yellow maize 
than white maize. The grade of all classes of maize usually 
dealt in is No. 3, No. 4 maize being much more common 
than No. 2. The following are the rules for grading yellow 
maize : ^ 

No. I yellow maize shall be yellow, sound, dry, plump and well cleaned. 

No. 2 yellow maize shall be three-fourths yellow, dry, reasonably clean, but not 
plump enough for No. i. 

No. 3 yellow maize shall be three-fourths yellow, reasonably dry and reasonably 
clean, but not sufficiently sound for No. 2. 

Rules for white maize are identical with those for yellow, 
except three-fourths reads seven-eighths. Under these rules, all 
maize that is less than three-fourths yellow and at the same 
time less than seven-eighths white is maize. 



274 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



367. Grade Uniformity. — Scofield ^ has pointed out that the 
essential elements in grading maize are: (i) the moisture, (2) 
the percentage of colors in mixtures, (3) the percentage of dam- 
aged grains, and (4) the percentage of broken grains and dirt. 
He proposes to put all dent maize into three classes as follows : 

1. Yellow maize ; at least 95 per cent yellow. 

2. White maize ; at least 98 per cent white. 

3. Mixed maize ; all maize not included above. 

The maximum limits for each grade of yellow maize are 
suggested in the following table: 





Per cent of water 


Per cent 
damaged 


Per cent of 




Nov.-Mar. 


Apr.-Oct. 


broken grains 


1 . 

2 . 

3 • • • 

4 . 


13 
15 
17 
19 


12 

14 
16 
18 



I 

3 
6 



2 
3 
5 



II. HISTORY. 

368. Nativity. — The records of the early voyagers prove 
that maize was cultivated on the American continent from 
Maine to Chile at the time of its discovery. It was then the 
great bread plant of the New World. Numerous varieties of 
maize have been found in the ancient tombs of Mexico, Peru 
and New Mexico. These monuments are supposed to be two 
thousand years old. As there were many varieties at this time, 
the cultivation of maize must have been considerably more 
ancient, although not necessarily so ancient as that of wheat. 
There was a semi-civilized race of people in Peru, Mexico, and 
even in New Mexico, who made considerable use of maize, 
using it boiled and roasted when green, and grinding it and 
making it into bread when ripe. 

1 U. S. Dept. Agr., Bu. PI. Ind. Bui. 41. 



HISTORY OF MAIZE 275 

369. Value to Colonists. — Maize was the salvation of many 
of the early colonies, preventing the colonists and their stock 
from starving. The tame grasses had not been introduced, 
so that besides maize stover their stock had nothing but salt 
marsh hay. 

The early settlers learned the cultivation of mai^e from the 
Indians. The James River settlers, under the tuition of the 
Indians, began to raise maize in 1608, and within three years 
they appeared to have as many as thirty acres under cultivation. 
The Pilgrims found it in cultivation by the Indians on their 
arrival at Plymouth, and began its cultivation in 162 1, manur- 
ing, as the Indians did, with fish. 

" According to the manner of the Indians we manured our ground with herrings, 
or rather shads, which we have in great abundance and take with ease at our doors. 

"You may see in one township a hundred acres together set with these fish, 
every acre taking a thousand of them, and an acre thus dressed will produce and 
yield as much corn as three acres without fish." 

In the Jamestown settlement they planted pumpkins and melons 
in the hill with the maize. 

370. Introduction into Eastern Continent. — Maize is pretty 
certainly of American origin. It has been introduced into 
Europe, Asia and Africa since the discovery of America. After 
its introduction into the old continent it spread very rapidly 
across northern Africa and southern Europe and across Asia 
into China. The rapidity with which it spread gave rise to dis- 
putes as to its origin and considerable confusion as to its name. 

Maize has been known by the following curious names in 
Europe: Turkish corn, Italian corn, Roman wheat, Sicilian 
wheat, Indian wheat, Spanish wheat, Barbary wheat, Guinea 
and Eg}ptian wheat. These names were given it in various 
places on account of the country in which it was supposed to 
have originated. They simply indicate the country from which 
and through which maize was introduced. The names, with 
the exception of Indian, are those of places bordering on the 
Mediterranean Sea. This would seem to indicate that maize 



276 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

was brought from America in vessels which sailed into the 
Mediterranean Sea and landed in the various countries denoted. 
The climate on both sides of the Mediterranean is fairly well 
adapted to the growth of maize. The rapid introduction into 
these countries of so striking a plant and its spread therefrom 
is not a matter of surprise. 

Practicums. 

371. Description of Maize Plant. 
Name of variety .... Date .... 

I. Maturity of plant silking: roasting ear; partly dented or glazed; dented 
or glazed ; nearly ripe ; ripe. 
Height of plant: average of ten plants . . , feet . . . inches 

3. Proportion of ears : number of eais on one hundred stalks . . . 

4. Barren stalks : number in one hundred stalks . . . 

5. Position of ear : pointing upward; horizontal; pointing downward. 

6. Husks : adherent ; medium ; non-adherent. 
Husks : abundant ; medium ; scanty. 
Length of shank: distance from node to base of ear, — average of ten 

plants . . . 
Circumference of stem : at middle of internode between second and third node 

from ground . . . 
Circumference of stem : at middle of internode below main ear . , . 
Number of leaves : average of ten plants . . . 
Average width of Isaf blades : average of five plants . . 

13. Average length of leaf blades : average of five plants . . . 

14. Length of tassel : average of ten plants . . . 

372. The Characters of the Grain. — Give each student twenty-five to 
thirty grains each of five types of maize or five varieties of a single type. For Nos. 
12 to 18, a number of grains should be soaked in hot water for thirty minutes, or in 
cold water for twenty-four hours. For taking measurements, furnish each student 
with a sheet of cross-section paper. 

Name of variety .... Date .... 

1. Weight: ten average grains in duplicate (a) . . . (b) . . . 

2. Length : ten average grains in duplicate (a) . . . (b) . . . 

3. Width : ten average grains in duplicate (a) . . . (b) . . . 

4. Thickness : ten average grains in duplicate (a) . . . (b) . . . 

5. Ratio of width to length : divide length of ten grains by width of ten grains 

(a) . . . (b) . . . 

6. Ratio of thickness to width : divide width of ten grains by thickness of ten 

grains (a) . . . (b) . . . 

7. Shape ; flat ; spheroidal ; conical. 



MAIZE : PRACTICUMS 277 

8. Shape (side view) : cuneate wedge-shape ; rounded ; cuneate ; truncate-cuneate ; 

shoe-peg form ; rectangular; rounded corners. 

g. Summit: rostrate; mucronate ; rounded; flat; dented. 

10. A\Tien dented : dimple ; long dimple ; creased ; pinched ; ligulate. 

11. Color: white; yellow; golden; red; purple. 

12. Place of color : endosperm; aleurone layer ; hull. 

13. Character of endosperm : corneous; partly corneous ; farinaceous; glucose. 

14. Proportion of corneous endosperm, if dent variety : large; medium; small. 

15. Size of embryo : large; medium; small. 

16. Sketch of cross-section : show arrangement to scale of embryo, glossy and white 

endosperm. 

17. Sketch of transverse section : show arrangement to scale of embryo, glossy and 

white endosperm. 

18. Sketch of lateral section: show arrangement to scale of embryo, glossy and 

white endosperm. 

373. The Characters of the Ear.— Give each student two or more ears 
of each of the five types of maize, or five different varieties of the same type. Ten 
ears of a given type or variety are none too many for a thorough study, but with 
larger classes it may be necessary to economize in material. Ears properly labeled, 
showing characters mentioned below, should be displayed for guidance of stu- 
dents. (220) 
Name of variety .... Date .... 

1. Color of grain : white ; yellow ; golden ; red ; purple. 

2. Color of cob : white ; light red ; deep red. 

3. Surface : smooth ; medium ; rough ; very rough. 

4. Sulci: absent; apparent; narrow; distinct; very distinct. 

5. Pairs of rows : distichous ; not distichous. 

6. Number of rows : one-fourth length from butt . . . ; from tip . . . 

7. Direction of rows: rectilinear; spiral to right; spiral to left; irregular. 

8. Grains : very loose ; loose ; firm ; mosaic-like. 

9. Grains : upright ; sloping ; imbricated. 

ID. Ear: cylindrical; cylindraceous ; slowly tapering; tapering; distinctly taper- 
ing; flat. 

11. Butt: even; shallow rounded ; moderately rounded ; deeply rounded. 

12. Butt: depressed; compressed; depressed-rounded; depressed-compressed' 

enlarged ; expanded ; open. 

13. Tip: sides of cob exposed ; end exposed ; end covered ; terminal grain. 

14. Juncture of ear stalk : large ; medium ; small. 

15. Length of ear (extreme length) : (a) ... (b) ... 

16. Circumference of ear one-third distance from butt: (a) . . . (b) . . . 

17. Weight of ear : (a) . . . (b) ... 

18. Weight of cob: (a) . . . (b) . . . 

19. Percentage of grain : (a) . . . (b) . . . 

20. Circumference of cob one-third distance from butt: (a) . . . (b) . . . 

21. Ratio of circumference of cob to circumference of ear: (a) . . . (b) . . . 



278 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

374. Score Card for Dent Maize. 1 

Furnish each student with a sample consisting of ten ears of maize. 

1. Trueness to Type or Breed Characteristics, 10 Points. — The ten 
ears in the sample should possess similar or like characteristics, and should be true 
to the variety which they represent. 

2. Shape of Ear, 10 Points. — The shape of the ear should conform to the 
variety type. Ear should be full and strong in central portion and not taper too 
rapidly toward the tip. 

3. Purity (a) in Grain, 5 Points. — Color of grain should be true to variety 
and free from mixture. For one or two mixed grains, a cut of one-fourth point- 
for four or more mi.xed grains, a cut of one-half point should be made. Difference 
in shade of color must be scored according to variety characteristics. 

(b) In Cob, 5 Points. — An ear with white cob in yellow maize or red cob in 
white maize, should be disqualified or marked zero. This mixture reduces the 
value of the maize for seed purposes, indicates lack of purity, and tends towards 
a too wide variation in time of maturity, size and shape of grains. 

4. Vitality or Seed Condition, 10 Points. — Maize should be in good seed 
condition, being capable of producing strong, vigorous growth and yield. 

5. Tips, 5 Points. — The form of tip should be regular ; grains near tip should 
be of regular shape and size. The proportion of tip covered or filled must be con- 
sidered. Long pointed tips as well as short flattened or double tips are objec- 
tionable. 

6. Butts, 5 Points. — The rows of grains should extend in regular order over 
the butt, leaving a deep depression when the shank is removed. Open and swelled 
butts, depressed and flat butts, with flattened glazed grains, are objectionable and 
must be cut according to the judgment of the scorer. 

7. Grains (a) Uniformity of, 10 Points; (b) Shape of, 5 Points. — The 
grains should be uniform in shape and size, making it possible to secure uniformity 
in dropping with the planter, and consequently a good stand. The grains should 
also be not only uniform on individual ear, but uniform in color and true to variety 
type. The grains should be so shaped that their edges touch from tip to crown. 

8. Length of Ear, 10 Points. — The length of ear varies according to variety, 
type, and the characteristics sought for by individual breeders. Uniformity in length 
is to be sought for in a sample, and a sample having an even length of ears should 
score higher than one that varies, even if it be within the limits. Instructor will 
set limits for length of ears of sample according to variety, allowing a variation of 
one inch. The sum of the excesses and deflciencies in inches shall constitute a cut 
in points. 

9. Circumference of Ear, 5 Points. — The circumference of the ear will 
vary according to the variety and the latitude. The circumference of the ear should 
be in symmetry with its length. An ear too great in circumference for its length 
is generally slow in maturing, and too frequently results in soft maize. Instructor 
will set limits for circumference of ears of sample according to variety, allowing a 
variation of one-half inch. The sum of the excesses and deficiencies in inches shall 

1 The score card of the Iowa State College slightly modified. Iowa Bui. ■]■] (1904). 



maize: coi.latkrai, reading 279 

constitute a cut in points. Measure the circumference at one-third tlie distance 
from the butt to the tip of the ear. 

10. (a) Furrows Between Rows, 5 Points. — Hie furrows between the 
rows of grains should be of sufficient size to permit the maize to dry out readily, 
but not so large as to lose in proportion of grain to c )b. 

(b) Space Between Tir.s of Grains at Cob, 5 Points. — This is objection- 
able, as it indicates immaturity, weak constitution and poor feeding value. 

11. Proportion of Grain to Cop., 10 Points. — The proportion of grain is 
determined by weight. Depth of grains, size of cob, maturity furrows and space at 
cob, all affect the proportion. In determining the proportion of grain to cob, weigh 
and shell every alternate ear in the exhibit. Weigh the grain and subtract from 
weight of ears, giving weight of grain ; divide the weight of grain by the total 
weight of ears, which will give the per cent of grain. Per cent of grain should be 
from 86 to 87. For each par cent short of standard, a cut of one and one-half 
points should be made. 

375. Determination of Commercial Grades of Maize. — Give each 
student two to four pounds of maize of two or more unlike samples and have him 
determine the proper grade. (367) 

(a) Per cent of water: grind a sufficient amount of maize into a coarse meal and 

determine per cent of water in thirty grams by drying to constant weight at 
102° C. 

(b) Color: determine percentage of color in 500 grains by count. 

(c) Damaged grains: determine percentage of rotten, moldy or otherwise un- 

sound grains in 500 grains by count. 

(d) Broken grains and dirt : determine on the basis of weights the percentage of all 

broken grains, meal, dirt, chaff and other foreign material in two or more pounds. 

376. Collateral Reading. 

Natural Distribution of Roots in Field Soils. By F. H. King. Ninth Ann. Rpt. 

of the Wis. Agr. Expt. Sta. (1892), pp. 1 12-120. 
Varieties of Corn. By E. L. Sturtevant. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Office of Expt. 

Sta. Bui. 57. 
Manual of Corn Judging. By A. D. Shamel. New York: Orange Judd Com- 
pany (1903). 
Xenia, or the Immediate Effect of Pollen in Maize. By H. J. Webter. U. S 

Dept. of Agr., Div. Veg. Phys. and Path. Bui. 22 (1900). 
Methods of Corn Breeding. By C. G. Hopkins. 111. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bui. 82 (i</)2). 
Selecting and Preparing Seed Corn. By P. G. Holden. Iowa Agr. Expt. Sta. Bui. 

77 (1904). 
The Maintenance of Fertility. By Charles E. Thorne. Ohio Agr. Expt. Sta. Bui. 

no (1899). 
Ten Years of Experiments in Corn Culture. By R. J. Redding. Ga. Agr. Expt. 

Sta. Bui. 46 (1899), pp. 73-75. 
Modem Silage Methods. The Silver Manufacturing Co., Salem, Ohio. 
Maize. Origin of Cultivated Plants. By Alphonse De Candolle. New York: 

D. Appleton & Co. (1902), pp. 387-397. 



XVIII. 

OATS. 



I, STRUCTURE. 

377. Relationships. — The tribe {Avcnae) to which the oat 
{Avcjia sativa L.) belongs differs from the tribe {Hordeac) to 
which wheat, rye and barley belong, in having the inflorescence 
in panicles instead of in spikes, and in having a crooked awn 
on the back of the flowering glume, instead of a straight awn at 
the end. To this tribe belong few economic plants. Arrhena- 
therum avenacenm Beauv. is somewhat extensively cultivated 
in France under the name of Ray Grass. It is only sparingly 
cultivated in America under the name of Tall Oat Grass. Velvet 

Grass {Holcns lanatus L.) is also 
occasionally sown as a pasture 
grass. 

378. The Plant. — The habit of 
growth of the roots is similar to 
that of wheat. The culms are 
somewhat larger in diameter and 
of rather softer tissue. Environ- 
ment has a greater influence upon 

Nodes of oats: A, exterior view ; B, cross- length of Culm of OatS than of 

section of straight culm; c, cross-section winter wheat and rye. Height of 

showing that a culm after it has fallen , • r , re 

becomes erect by the growth on its lower Culm VarieS from tWO tO fivC feet; 

side of the sheath node, not the culm probably the average height is 

three and a half feet. The leaves 
are more abundant, the blade broader, and the ligule more 
pronounced than in wheat. 

The Ohio Station found during seven years an average of one 




STRUCTURE OF OATS 28 I 

pound of grain to two and two-tenths pounds of straw when 
fertilizers were used, and one to one and six-tenths pounds when 
no fertilizers were used.^ The Illinois Station has found as 
high as two and seven-tenths pounds of straw per each pound of 
grain,^ and as low as one and two-tenths pounds in different 
seasons under otherwise like conditions.' Kansas Station found 
a variation of from four and one-tenth to one and two-tenths 
pounds of straw to one pound of grain due to season.* In gen- 
eral, the more favorable the season the more fertile the soil, and 
the later the variety or the later the seeding the greater is the 
proportion of straw to grain. 

379. Inflorescence. — A typical panicle is nine to twelve inches 
long, contains from three to five whorls of branches and bears 
about seventy-five spikelets. The branches arise from alternate 
sides of the rachis and vary in length and position ; thus the 
panicle may be open or closed ; symmet- 
rical or one-sided. Each spikelet is at the 
end of a flexible pedicel of variable length. 
The spikelet contains two or more flowers ; 
only two usually mature, the lower one 
always developing into the larger grain. 
The outer glumes are membraneous and 

. A spikelet of oats : I , outer 

considerably larger (three-fourths to one giumes; 2, lower flower; 
inch) than the flowering glume. The color ^- '^pp^' ^^°'"^'- ^' ""^'■ 

/ . - ,, , ,. , ment of third flower 

of the latter varies from yellow to reddish 

brown and black. The flowering glume of the lower flower 
usually partially encloses that of the upper flower. The awn, 
when it occurs, is on the back (not at the tip) of the flowering 
glume, and usually occurs only in the lower flower of the spike- 
let. The palea is smaller than the flowering glume and enclosed 

1 Ohio Rpt. 1896, p. 142. 

2 111. Bui. 12 (1890), p. 355. 
8 111. Bui. 31 (1894), p. 384. 
* Kan. Bui. 42 (1893), P- ^3* 




282 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



within the latter. The organs of reproduction are quite similar 
to those in wheat. (56) 

380. The Grain. — The oat kernel, except in hull-less varieties, 
remains enclosed in the flowering glume and palea. These 
parts are usually referred to as the oat hull, but 
are entirely different from the hull of maize 
(228) or the bran of wheat. (64) In this book 
the caryopsis of the oat will be called the kernel, 
and the kernel plus the hull will be called the 
grain. In general form and structure the oat 
kernel is similar to the grain of wheat, but is 
rather more elongated, while the pericarp is 
characterized by its hairy surface. Richardson 
found in an average of 166 varieties that 100 
g;-ains weighed 2.5 grams, with variations from 
^^•75 to 3.75 grams per hundred grains.^ 

3814 Relation of Hull to Kernel. — The quality 
of oats depends principally upon the proportion 
of hull to kernel. The per cent of hull depends 
both upon the variety and upon the conditions 
of growth, varying from at least twenty to forty- 
row of aieurone fivc per Cent. American varieties contain on an 
cells ; s. endo- average about thirty per cent of hull and seventy 

sperm with com- o ^ j. j 

pound starch per Cent of kernel 

grains. Nucellus 




Magnified section of 
portion of oat ker- 
nel : /*, pericarp ; 
/, testa ; a, double 



It has been demonstrated 
. , . that there is no necessary relation between 

not shown m this •' 

s e c t To n . 

Pammel.) 



(After weight per bushel or shape of grain and the per 
cent of kernel or food value. The Illinois Sta- 
tion, working during five years with from thirty to sixty varieties, 
the seed of which was from various sources, but the crops all 
grown under like conditions, found that generally varieties with 
long, slender, comparatively light grains had the largest per cent 
of kernel." The Ohio Station, working with seventy varieties 

1 U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. of Chem. Bui. 9. 

2 111. Buls. 7, 12, 19 and 23. 



STRUCTURE OF OATS 283 

one season, found that the Welcome or short, plump grain 
group (385) contained a higher percentage of kernel than the 
Seizure group, which has longer and more slender grains. 
While in the Welcome group the varieties with the highest 
weight per bushel contained the highest per cent of kernel, the 
reverse was the case with the Seizure group.^ Saunders believes 
that the results at Ottawa prove that with a given variety the 
actual weight of hull per grain is the same without reference to 
the weight per bushel.'^ 

Since the hull (flowering glume and palea) develops long 
before the kernel, it would seem that with a given variety any 
unfavorable environment which prevents the grain from filling 
fully would both decrease the per cent of kernel and the weight 
per bushel. If, however, a large number of varieties are grown 
under the same conditions, it is probable that those varieties 
best suited to the environment would develop their kernels 
most completely and thus have the highest per cent of kernel. 
Thus the per cent of kernel might in some instances be the 
highest in varieties with short, plump grains, and in other 
instances in those with long, slender ones, depending upon their 
adaptability to the given region or season. 

382. Weight per Bushel.— The legal weight per bushel in all 
States of the United States is thirty-two pounds, except in Idaho 
(thirty-six), Maine, New Jersey, Virginia (each thirty) and Mary- 
land (twenty-six). In Canada it is thirty-four pounds. Oats 
may vary in weight from twenty-five to fifty pounds per bushel, 
the lighter weight being found in the more southern climates. 
Richardson found the average weight per bushel of i66 varieties 
gathered from various sections of the United States to be thirty- 
seven pounds. In order to increase the weight per bushel and 
consequently the commercial quality, elevators frequently resort 
to a process known as clipping. 

1 Ohio Bui. 57, p. 108. 

2 Can. Farms Rpt. 1903, p. 8. 



284 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



1 



II. COMPOSITION. 



383. Composition. — The average of American analyses is as 
follows : 











Oat hay 






Oat grain 


Oat kernel 


Oat straw 


(cut in 
milk) 


Oat hull 


Water . 


II.O 


7-9 


9.2 


15.0 


7-1, 


Ash . . . 


3-0 


2.0 


5-1 


5-2 


6.7 


Protein (Nx 6.25) 


ii.S 


14.7 


4.0 


9-3 


3-3 


Crude fiber . 


9-5 


0.9 


37-0 


29.2 


29.7 


Nitrogen-free extract 


59-7 


67.4 


42.4 


39-0 


52.0 


Fat . . . 


5.0 


7-1 


2-3 


2-3 


I.O 



Rather wide variations are found in the composition of the 
oat grain, due doubtless to the variation in percentage of hull, 
since the composition of the oat kernel shows only moderate 
variations. Taking the grain as a whole, oats differ from maize 
principally in having a larger per cent of crude fiber at the 
expense of starch. The kernel is richer in protein and fat than 
the corresponding part of any of our other cereals. Oat straw 
has a higher percentage of protein and a lower percentage of 
crude fiber than wheat or rye straw. The composition of oat 
hay cut when the grain was in the milk is very similar to that 
of timothy hay. 

No coherent substance similar to gluten in wheat is to be obtained from the oat 
kernel; hence light bread cannot be made from it. Osborne has found that the 
proteids of the oat kernel undergo great changes when brought in contact with water 
or sodium chloride solution. It is necessary, therefore, to distinguish between the 
primary and secondary proteids of the oat kernel. Of primary proteids, the oat 
kernel contains about one and one-fourth per cent of an alcohol-soluble proteid; 
about one and one-half per cent of. salt-soluble proteid or globulin, while the rest of 
the proteids contained in the oat kernel is an alkali-soluble body. This substance 
which forms the larger portion of the proteids has been given the name avenine. 1 

1 Memoirs National Academy of Sciences, Vol. VI, p. 51 ; also Conn. Rpt. 1891, 
p. 134- 



VARIETIES OF OATS 285 

384. Germination.— Saunders has reported the average ger- 
mination of four samples of oats during six years as follows : 
90, 93, 78, 67, 54 and 30 per cent. The viability was less 
than with wheat, barley, peas or flax.^ Kinzel found that the 
percentage of germinable seed steadily increased for eight to 
ten months, after which there was a decrease.' The Ohio 
Station found an average yield during five years of forty-eight 
bushels per acre where seed of the previous year's growth was 
used, and forty-five bushels per acre where seed was one year 
older.^ 

The Wisconsin Station reports that soaking oats in a solution 
of two and one-half parts of formaldehyde to i,ooo parts of 
water decreased germination from six to seventeen per cent.* 
An increased yield has been observed in some instances from 
hot water and potassium sulphide treatment beyond that result- 
ing from replacing smutted panicles with sound ones. This may 
be explained by supposing that many plants are attacked with 
smut without developing spores when seed is not treated, and 
by its possible higher germinative energy. Kellerman found 
that treatment with hot water and potassium sulphide generally 
caused better and greater germination ;^ while the Wyoming 
Station found copper sulphate, hot water and potassium sul- 
phide generally injurious. 

III. VARIETIES. 

385. Classification. — There are spring and winter (fall) 
varieties of oats. The winter varieties are principally grown 
south of the southern boundary of Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri 
and Kansas, or about 37° N. Lat., where they are the chief 

1 Can. Expt. Farms Rpt. 1903, p. 44. • 

2 Landw. Vers. Stat. 54 (1900), No. 1-2, p. 123. 
8 Ohio Bui. 13S (1903), p. 48. 

4 Wis. Rpt. 1902, p. 268. 

5 Ohio Bui. 3 Tech. ser. (1893), p. 201. 



286 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



varieties grown. The area of cultivation of winter oats is grad- 
ually extending northward. Where successfully grown they are 
to be preferred to spring varieties, because of their more vigor- 
ous early growth in the spring and their earlier ripening. At 
the Alabama Station fall sowing gave about twice the yield of 
grain and straw as spring sowing.^ There is, however, greater 
danger of absolute failure of fall seeding on account of winter 
killing. 

Oats may be further classified according to their date of 

ripening, according to 
color and shape of 
grain and according to 
the shape of the pan- 
icle. The panicle may 
be spreading or open, 
or the branches may 
hang mostly upon one 
side of the rachis and 
be more upright, which 
gives the panicle a 
closed appearance. 
Such varieties are 
known as side oats. 
There are all degrees 
of variation between 
the varieties with open 
and closed panicles. 
There are varieties 

Variety with open or spreading pan.cle. ^^ ^^^^ knOWU aS hull- 

less oats, in which the flowering glume and palea are removed 
upon threshing. These varieties may have either open or closed 
panicles. On account of the smaller yield, due in part, at least, 
to the removal of the hull, they are not generally raised. 




1 Ala. Bui. 95, p. 165. 



VARIETIES OF OATS 



287 



\' 



^ 



V 



The Ohio Station, which has tested seventy-one varieties for 
ten years, has divided these varieties into four groups: (i) Wel- 
come group, with open panicle, coarse straw and 
short, plump grain, includes twenty-one varieties ; 
(2) Wide Awake group, grain longer and more 
pointed, requiring slightly longer season, includes 
twenty-three varieties ; (3) Seizure group, panicle 
one-sided, stiff straw, still longer season, includes 
thirteen varieties ; (4) Mixed group, in which 
varieties are placed not clearly belonging in any 
of the above groups. 

386. Value of Different Types and Varieties. — 
Carleton states that side oats are usually white or 
black ; that white and black varieties of any type 
are usually found in northern regions ; that red 
varieties usually, and gray varieties almost en- 
tirely, are grown as winter oats.^ Experiments 
seem to indicate that there is no material differ- 
ence in yield betvveen varieties with open and 
closed panicles, between varieties of different 
colored grains, or between varieties having short, 
plump grains, and those having long, slender 
grains, and consequently between varieties of 
different weight per bushel. In America there are more early 
maturing varieties with short, plump, white grains and open 
panicles than any other kind ; and at the Ohio Station and at 
the Ontario Agricultural College ranked rather better than 
other types.'^ 

W^hile it cannot, perhaps, be 'demonstrated that early maturing 
varieties are more prolific than late maturing varieties, they have 
the advantage in that their growth and maturity are during the 

1 Rpt. Kan. St. Bd. Agr., Quar. ending March i, 1904, p. 19. 

2 Ohio Bui. 138 (1903)^ p. 45, and Ont. Agr. Col. and Expt. Farms Rpt. 1897, 
p. 154. 



Variety with closed 
or one-sided pan- 
icle. 



288 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

cooler portion of the season, and also because they may often 
be harvested so as to avoid storms which injure the late varie- 
ties. In some localities early maturing varieties are desirable 
in order that they may be harvested in time to prepare for the 
succeeding crop. There is a difference of about two weeks in 
varieties grown in this country when grown side by side in a 
given locality. At the Ohio Station the average length of 
seasons during ten years varied for seventy-one varieties from 
linety-eight to 105 days, except in Early Ripe, which was eighty- 
seven days. During eight years North Dakota Station has 
found an average variety variation of from eighty-eight to 102 
days, while the extreme limits due to both season and variety 
were eighty to 118 days.^ Early varieties usually have shorter 
stems, and are, therefore, less likely to lodge. 

387. Varieties of Oats.— Twenty-eight stations have tested 
varieties of oats from one to fifteen years and have obtained 
satisfactory results with 125 different varieties. Of these varie- 
ties, only sixteen are recommended by four or more stations. 
Two are winter varieties suited to sowing in the South in the 
fall, viz., Red Rust Proof, 8;" Virginia Gray, 4. Of the four- 
teen spring varieties, eleven are white with open panicles, as 
follows : American Banner, i o ; Badger Queen, 6 ; Lincoln, 5 ; 
Wide Awake, 5 ; Improved American, 4 ; Clydesdale, 4 ; White 
Bonanza, 4 ; Pringle's Progress, 4 ; Siberian, 4 ; Welcome, 4 ; 
White Wonder, 4. Two varieties have closed panicles. White 
Russian, 4, and Black Russian, 4, with the color of grain as 
indicated in name. Burt (synonym May) is recommended by 
four stations : Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Mississippi, 
where an early maturing spring variety is desired. 

There is a group of varieties of which Virginia is the type 
that are especially adapted to growing for grazing or for hay. 
They are hardy, have tall fine straw, a low percentage of grain 

1 No. Dak. Bui. 52, p. 109. ^ 

2 Number of stations recommending the variety. 



VARIETIES OF OATS 289 

and a long season of growth. The Red Rust Proof appears to 
have a wide adaptation to the conditions existing in the 
Southern States. 

"It can be so-wh both in fall and in late winter in this latitude. It is generally 
not greatl)' injured by rust, but is rust resistant rather than rust proof. The straw 
is short, an objection in very poor or stony land, since short straw means loss in 
harvesting. The height of straw can be increased by the liberal use of nitrogenous 
fertilizers, such as cotton seed, cotton seed meal and nitrate of soda." 1 

The station results clearly indicate that there are types of 
oats specially adapted to Southern conditions, but do not appear 
to indicate any marked adaptability among the North Atlantic, 
North Central and Western States. 

388. Improvement of Varieties.— The qualities to be sought 
in oats are (i) high percentage of kernel, (2) yield, and (3), to 
meet commercial demands, high weight per bushel, which is 
not necessarily related to per cent of kernel. Factors which 
influence yield, and to some extent quality, are (i) hardiness, 
(2) earliness, (3) stiffness of straw, (4) resistance to heat and 
drouth, (5) rust resistance. Oats have been improved by selec- 
tion and by crossing. Improvement may be accomplished 
through continuous seed selection (402) and through the selection 
of individual plants by means of the breeding nursery. (loS)' 
The oat grower may keep his variety true to type and possibly 
improve it by maintaining a small seed patch (say an acre) on 
which is grown seed selected from the best portion of his field 
or the best plants of his seed patch the previous year. 

389. Introduction of New Varieties. — The most important 
variety improvement in America has been due to the introduc- 
tion of new varieties from northern Europe. Probably more 
new varieties of oats are imported and distributed by seedsmen 
than of any other cereal. It is not clear, however, to what 
extent the improvement has been merely in w^eight per bushel 
rather than in yield, except in instances where specially tested 

lAla. Bui. 95 (1898), p. 161. 



290 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

varieties have been introduced as described below, and it seems 
probable that rigid selection under a given environment would 
bring about better results in the end. (393) A number of sta- 
tions have tested and introduced foreign varieties:' 

GUELPH, CANADA. 

JOANETTE. — Imported from France in 1889; panicle spreading; grain black. 
Where successfully grown produces very large yields of grain. Produces a very 
short straw. Not suitable for growth throughout the greater part of the Province. 
Sown very thinly (four pecks per acre) on rich soils, cut a little on the green side, 
and bound into small sheaves, they bring good results. They are the greatest stool- 
ing oats and possess the thinnest hulls (which necessitates caution in threshing) of 
any so far experimented with. The grain is of excellent quality. 

Siberian. — Imported from Russia in 1889; panicle spreading; grain white and 
of excellent quality ; hulls comparatively thin. Produces a long straw and is well 
suited for medium to poor soil. Appears to have the widest adaptability of any 
variety raised in the Province and is one of the most popular in Ontario at the 
present time. 

Oderbrucker. — Imported from Germany ; panicle spreading; grain white, of 
good quality. Straw not so stiff as that produced by Siberian, and the grain weighs 
somewhat less per measured bushel. 1 

OTTAWA, CANADA. 

Tartar King has recently been brought out by Garton Bros., England. Ithas 
a stiff straw and a larger percentage of hull than most varieties tested at Ottawa. 
Color of grain, white. The yield of grain is not so large as with some other varie- 
ties, but for rich soil is probably worthy of a trial. 

WISCONSIN. 

Swedish Oats (Wisconsin No. 4). — Originated in Sweden; introduced into 
Finland and Russia, and into the United States from Russia by the Department of 
Agriculture and distributed to United States Experiment Stations. This station 
obtained seed (six pounds) in 1S99 sufficient to sow one-tenth acre. Its evident 
good qualities led the station to continue its cultivation two years for seed for 
the field and for distribution. The variety was more productive than the varieties 
previously grown. Of thirty-eight different varieties tested for five years at the 
station, this variety proved the most satisfactory. It likewise gave best results under 
field conditions during the same period. The Swedish oat has its panicle spreading, 
grain white. It is noted for its special adaptability to well-drained soils, to soils of 
poor grade, its strength of culm and its resistance to drought, the last named quality 
being due to its abundant root development. It has been reported that this variety 
does not fill well and produced straw too abundantly on rich prairie soil. 2 

1 Rpt. Ont. Agr. Col. a.nd Expt. Farms, 1901, 1902, 1903. 
9 Wis. Rpt. 1902, p. 219; 1903, p. 265. 



VARIETIKS OF OATS 2gi 



NEBRASKA. 



Kherson Oats. — Introduced into Nebraska in 1897 from tlie Kherson govern- 
ment of Russia. Panicles spreading ; grain light yellow, small, but numerous, and 
having a very thin hull. The growth is vigorous, but not rank, the culm being very 
short ; leaves very broad. In weight per bushel and yield per acre, this variety has 
led all others at this station. On account of its habit of growth the oat is reported 
to be peculiarly adapted to central and western Nebraska. A three years' test indi- 
cates that it is earlier, yields better, and, excepting the Texas Red, weighs heavier 
than any other variety. At this station it has proved itself the superior of Texas 
Red in yield per acre. It is reported as having remarkable drought-resisting quali- 
ties. In an experiment in 1902, in which Swedish Select lodged so badly as to 
make it impossible to determine yield, Kherson oats, though partly lodged, yielded 
forty-two bushels per acre. Sixty Day, also from Russia, although not lodged, 
partly shelled, and yielded only thirty bushels per acre. 1 

390. Crossing. — The indications are that oats are nearly 
always self-fertilized. Artificial cross-fertilization is most suc- 
cessfully accomplished on cool, moist days.^ No American 
cross-bred variety of oats has as yet been widely distributed. 

1 Neb. Bui. 82 (1904). 

2 E. S. R. XIV, p. 216. 



XIX. 



OATS. 



CLIMATE. 



391. Influence of Climate Upon Distribution. — Oats are natu- 
rally adapted to a cooler climate than wheat, barley or maize. 
North Dakota Station has shown that oats require less number 
of days and less heat units than spring wheat or maize.* The 
climate needs to be both cool and moist. Oats grow fairly well 
in the South, where, while warm, it is moist, but in California, 

where both warm and dry, oats do 
not do as well as wheat or barley. 
Oats grow to perfection in the cool, 
moist, insular climate of Scotland, 
Norway and Sweden, as well as in 
Canada. Doubtless the pendant 
spikelets, with large outer glumes, 
protect the flowers from cold rains. 
Oats may be grown as far north as 
65° N. Lat. both in America and in 
Norway, and have matured seed in 
Alaska where the thermometer 
reached 30° F. or lower every month 

Barley and oats grown in 1903 at . , 

Ramparl, Alaska. Latitude 65" N. ^^ ^hC year. 

(O. E. S. Rpt. 1903.) _ „ , „,. „ ^. 

392. Influence of Climate Upon Dis- 
tribution and Yield. — The relative adaptability of oats compared 
with other cereals to certain climatic conditions is shown by 
results of experiments in central Canada and central Ohio. By 
growing oats, barley, field peas and spring wheat separately and 




1 No. Dak. Bui. 47 (1900), p. 704. 



CLIMATE FOR OATS 



293 



in combinations in Canada for six years, it was found that the 
influence upon yield of grain was in order just given from 
greatest to least. (404) In Ohio, on the fortieth parallel, the 
yield of grain for five years when grown continuously on unfer- 
tilized soil was as follows : 





Yield of grain 


Price, ct.l 


Value 




Pounds 


Bushels 


Maize 

Winter wheat . 

Spring oats 


2,957 
1,898 
1,014 


52.8 
31.6 
34.8 


35 
65 
28 


$18.48 

20.54 

9-74 



393. Influence of Climate Upon Physical Properties of Oats. — 

The physical properties of oats seem to be readily affected by 
climate. The Southern varieties are larger but less dense, less 
plump, often of a dirty dun color, with long awns, while the 
Northern grown varieties have shorter, smoother grains, with 
short awns or awnless. The fact that short, plump, smooth, 
heavy grains have the largest market value has led to the 
importation of varieties from Scotland, Norway and Sweden. 
To what extent these variations are due to selection and to what 
extent to environment has not been clearly proven ; but the 
Ohio Station has found that during ten years' experiments with 
seventy-one varieties, the weight per bushel has decreased while 
the yield per acre has apparently increased.^ The Oklahoma 
Station compared fifty varieties of Southern grown seed with 
thirty-four varieties of Northern grown seed and obtained 
slightly larger yields of grain and straw from Southern grown 
varieties.^ On the other hand, the Ontario Agricultural College 

1 For purpose of computation, average December farm price for decade 1890- 
1899 was used. 

' Ohio Bui. 139, p. 45. 

3 Okla. Bui. 16 (1895), p. 36. 



2 94 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

and the Missouri Station have been exchanging seed oats yearly, 
and the results have shown in general that the Missouri grown 
oats have produced the largest yield of grain, and that the 
Ontario seed produced grain of the best quality when grown in 
Ontario.^ 

394. Need of Water. — It has already been shown that the 
water requirement of oats may be large. (391) This has been 
confirmed by King, who reports the water requirement of a 
pound of dry matter in oats to be 504 pounds; of barley, 464 
pounds; and of maize, 277 pounds.^ To this must be added 
the fact that the growth of oats is very rapid and the amount of 
straw relatively large. The daily demand for water during the 
period of most rapid growth for each pound of grain produced 
is high. The amount of water required for irrigating oats in 
Western States is estimated at about one and three-quarters 
feet, distributed between May 22 and August 20,' 

II. SOIL AND ITS AMENDMENTS. 

395. Soil. — The character of the soil upon which oats are 
sown is of less importance than any other cereal, with the pos- 
sible exception of buckwheat. Almost any tillable soil brings a 
fair crop if climatic conditions and cultural methods are suitable. 
It is on this account, and because oats are liable to lodge on 
fertile soils, that they are sown on the poorer soils and on soils 
in the most exhausted state of fertility. The ' oat does best, 
however, on relatively moist soils. 

396. Rotation. — The oat appears less influenced by rotation 
with grass and clover than either wheat or maize. The Indiana 
Station has grown maize, wheat and oats continuously or in 
alternation one with another for fifteen years, in comparison 
with the same crops in rotation with grass and clover on 

1 Ont. Agr. Col. and Expt. Farms Rpt. 1903, p. 122. 

2 Physics of Agriculture, p. 139. 

3 U. S. Dept. of Agr., O. E. S. Bui. 119. 



1 



SOIL FOR OATS 295 

adjacent plats. The average per cent of gain from rotation 
with clover and grass has been : wheat, fifty ; maize, twenty- 
two; and oats, nineteen.^ In the American systems of rotation 
oats usually follow maize. The following may be recommended: 
For winter wheat sections: maize, one year; oats, one year; 
winter wheat, one year ; timothy and common red clover, one or 
two years. (119) For sections specially adapted to maize and 
not to wheat : maize, two years ; oats, one year ; timothy and 
clover, one to three years, depending upon live stock kept. (283) 
For Southern States : maize and cowpeas, one year ; oats, fol- 
lowed by cowpeas harvested for hay, one year; cotton, one 
or two years. In the first year of this rotation, the cowpeas 
grown between the rows of maize may be harvested for grain. 
It has been shown that a rotation including cowpeas greatly 
increased the subsequent yield of oats.^ In Arkansas it has 
been found possible to raise a profitable crop of peas after re- 
moving a crop of oats, in time to seed to oats again in the fall. 
When the stubble was plowed under, the subsequent yield of oats 
was considerably increased, and when the vines also were plowed 
under, the increased yield of oats was greater than that caused 
by the application of 400 pounds of a complete commercial 
fertilizer per acre.^ 

397. The Influence of Fertilizers. — Fertilizers are seldom ap- 
plied to the oat crop, both because they are apt to grow too rank 
and because it usually pays better to apply the manure to some 
other crop.^ Oats, however, respond very readily to an applica- 
tion of fertilizers when applied where needed, as shown in various 
rotations where light and heavy applications of stable manure and 
commercial fertilizers were used continuously for ten years.* 

1 Ind. Rpt. 1895, p. 38. 

2 Ala. Bill. 95, p. 157. 

3 Ark. Bui. 66. 

4 Ohio Bui. 134, p. 91. 

5 lad. Bui. 88. 



296 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

Where oats follow maize which has had an application of 
stable manure and precede wheat which is to have an applica- 
tion of commercial fertilizers, ordinarily no soil amendment will 
be required for oats. Where land is seeded to grass and clover 
with oats, an application of commercial fertilizer may be desir- 
able. Where commercial fertilizers are used, the kind, quantity 
and method of application will be similar to that for wheat. 
(122, 123) The relative importance of the several fertilizing 
constituents is also similar. (121) The Georgia Station recom- 
mends the following for Southern conditions : acid phosphate, 
200 pounds ; muriate of potash, fifty pounds ; nitrate of soda, 
twenty-five pounds; cotton seed meal, 200 pounds to be sown 
with fall oats, and seventy-five pounds of nitrate of soda to be 
applied in the spring.^ At the Pennsylvania Station during 
twenty years lime increased the straw when used alone or in 
connection with stable manure, but when used alone caused a 
decrease in yield of grain.'^ The Rhode Island Station found 
a marked increase in yield of green fodder by the use of 
lime.' 

III. CULTURAL METHODS. 

398. Seed Bed. — It is not customary to prepare the seed bed 
so deep for oats as for wheat, rye, barley or maize. In the 
North Central States many acres are sown on maize land with- 
out plowing. The oats are sown broadcast on the unprepared 
land and covered with a maize cultivator (3 1 2) or disk harrow 
(299) or similar instrument. Sometimes the unplowed land is 
cultivated once before sowing the oats and then cultivated once 
or twice afterwards. Good crops are grown in this way, as 
shown in the table on page 297, but very much depends upon 
the nature of the soil, and something upon the season : 

1 Ga. Bui. 44, p. 18. 

2 Penn. Rpt. 1902, p. igr. 

3 R. I. Rpt. 1894, p. III. 



CULTURE OF OATS 297 

Results of Different Cultural Methods Compared. 







Bulletin 


Yield of grain (bushels) 


No. years 
tested 


Station 


Fall 
plowed 


Spring 
plowed 


Prepared 
without 
plowing 


Illinois . 
Illinois . 
Kansas . 
Michigan 
Minnesota . 
North Dakota 
Ohio . 
Oklahema . 
Pennsylvania 




12 

23 
74 
164 
40 
II 

■ 16 
Rpt. 1 89 1 


51. 1 

25'S 
49.6 

28.6 

34-8 


36.1 
27.4 
42.0 

79-3 
26.0 
52.8 
32.0 
40.4 


54-7 
391 
24.0 

82.5 

48.7 

31-3 


2 
2 

5 

I 
I 
I 
6 

I 
I 



Where soil is naturally compact, as shown at Pennsylvania 
Station, plowing gives better results. Sometimes oats are sown 
on the uncultivated surface and the land plowed, turning the 
oats under three or four inches deep. A medium compact seed 
bed appears to give better results than one either very loose or 
very compact. While as in other cereals no marked dififerences 
are found between fall and spring plowing directly, yet because 
it enables earlier seeding in the spring and facilitates spring 
work, fall plowing is to be recommended in most instances. 

399. After Treatment. — Rolling either before or after oats 
are up has not materially influenced the yield, although it is 
often good practice on account of subsequent use of harvest- 
ing machinery, particularly if land has been seeded to grass. 
Where a hard crust has formed after sowing, harrowing or even 
rolling may serve to break this crust. If land is rolled when 
too wet, it may so pack the soil as to prevent proper air venti- 
lation and retard germination. The Wisconsin Station has 
shown that the temperature of a rolled soil may be higher than 
one that has not been rolled, and the percentage of moisture 



298 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

slightly decreased.^ On clay soils heavy rains are more likely 
to pack the soil unfavorably on rolled than upon unrolled land. 
On such soil a light harrowing after rolling may prove benefi- 
cial. Harrowing after oats are up has increased the yield of 
grain in Nebraska,^ but decreased it in Kansas.' Oats may be 
cultivated by sowing two drill rows and missing two, but using 
the same amount of seed per acre. Sometimes increased yields 
have been obtained, but usually a decreased yield results from 
more or less accidental injury to plants. It appears that on 
gravelly soil especially liable to suffer from drouth, cultivation 
may increase the yield, but ordinarily it cannot be considered good 
practice. The Iowa Station found that cutting back oats when 
showing five leaves decreased the amount of lodging, increased 
the yield twelve per cent and somewhat delayed ripening.* 

400. Influence of Size of Seed. — The Ohio Station obtained 
heavy and light seed by use of a fanning mill and during seven 
years averaged forty-six bushels with heavy seed, forty-five 
bushels with common seed and forty-three bushels per acre with 
light seed. No difference was found in weight per bushel.*^ 
By the same method Kansas Station during eight years obtained 
thirty-one, thirty and twenty-eight bushels respectively.^ Minne- 
sota Station sowed two bushels of oats weighing thirty-seven 
pounds per bushel and two bushels weighing twenty-one pounds 
per bushel, and obtained sixty-four and fifty-five bushels of grain 
per acre respectively.'^ 

401. Influence of Seed Selection. — In the above tests the 
selection was by specific gravity and not by weight of individual 

1 Wis. Rpt. 1891, p. 91. 

2 Neb. Rpt. 1899, p. 15. 

3 Kan. Bui. 13 (1890), p. 62. 
* Iowa Bui. 45 (1900), p. 220. 
6 Ohio Bui. 38, p. 48. 

6 Kan. Bui. 74, p. 199. 

7 Minn. Bui. 31, p. 201. 



CULTURE OF OATS 299 

seeds, and in each case equal quantity but not equal number 
of seeds per acre was used. By means of hand selected seeds, 
and using the same number of seeds per acre, the Ontario Agri- 
cultural College obtained during seven years sixty-two bushels 
with large seeds, fifty-four bushels with medium sized seeds, 
and forty-seven bushels of grain with small seeds.^ In the 
Northwest Territories selected, well cleaned, and small oats 
for seed yielded 131, 122, and 121 bushels respectively.- 

402. Seed Selection.— In the above experiments the influence 
of weight or specific gravity of seed upon yield rather than the 
hereditary influence of continuous selection of seed was deter- 
mined, a fresh source of seed in most instances being used for 
each year's work. It should be remembered that every spikelet 
of oats contains two seeds, one very much larger than the other. 
In the following experiment by Zavitz the influence of continu- 
ous selection of large, plump, well-developed seeds was com- 
pared with the like selection of light-weighing and light-colored 
seeds. At the end of eleven years, the former produced seventy- 
seven bushels per acre and the latter fifty-eight bushels per acre. 
An ounce of the former contained 1,208 grains, while an ounce 
of the latter contained 1,586 grains. The selection of hulled 
seed continuously showed a tendency to produce oats which 
were easily hulled during thresHng.'^ 

403. Mixing Varieties. — It has been held that since varieties 
have different habits of growth, the mixing of two or more 
varieties might enable them more fully to occupy the soil and 
thus produce higher yields. During seven years the Ohio 
Station tested a mixture of four distinct varieties but found 
no influence upon yield as compared with the varieties not 
mixed.* 

1 Ont. Agr. Col. and Expt. Farms Rpt. 1905, p. 118. 
- Can. Expt. Farms Rpt. 1901. 

3 Ont. Agr. Col. and Expt. Fa ms Rpt. 1903, p. 119. 
1 Ohio Bui. 138. 



300 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

404. Sowing with Other Cereals. — The Ontario Agricultural 
College grew oats, spring wheat, barley and peas separately and 
in eleven combinations for grain and straw during six years. 
In about ninety per cent of the experiments, the mixtures pro- 
duced the larger yields of grain, a combination of oats and 
barley being best.^ The Ottawa Station found oats alone pro- 
duced a better yield than a mixture in one location and that the 
mixture did best in another location and season. The best 
mixtures were one bushel each of barley, oats and peas, and 
one-half bushel of spring wheat, one of oats, three-fourths of 
peas and three-fourths of barley per acre.^ 

405. Sowing with Field Peas. — -Oats are sometimes mixed 
with field peas for the production of green or dry fodder for 
grain. They may be mixed and sown in an ordinary wheat 
drill, or peas may be sown and the land plowed, covermg the 
peas about four inches deep. Land may then be fitted and the 
oats sown broadcast or with drill. Sowing the oats may be 
delayed for about a week to give the peas a start of the oats. 
This mixture is frequently sown for soiling milch cows where 
pasture is restricted or not available. By sowing at different 
dates a succession of green fodder may be had as follows in the 
North Atlantic and North Central States, allowance being made 
for soil and season : 

Time of seeding Time of cutting 

March 20-April i June 1-20 

April 1-20 June 15-July 5 

April 20-May 10 July i-July 25 

The Vermont Station secured 10,917 pounds of water-free 
substance containing 12.6 per cent of protein by growing peas 
and oats for fodder, and found this mixture superior to oats 
and spring vetch ( Vicia sativa L.)." Zavitz found in Ontario, 

1 Ont. Agr. Col. and Expt. Farms Rpt. 189S, p. 144. 

2 Can. Expt. Farms Rpt. 1900. 

3 Vt. Rpt. 1895, p. 195. 



CULTURE OF OATS 30! 

Canada, as a result of five years' tests, that Daubeney oats and 
Chancellor peas yielded 5.9 tons of green fodder in seventy 
days ; Siberian oats and Prussian Blue peas 6.9 tons in seventy- 
seven days ; and Mammoth Cluster oats and Prince Albert peas 
6.1 tons in eight}'-four days from time of seeding. Two bushels 
of Siberian oats and one bushel of Prussian Blue peas are 
recommended for the production of either green fodder or dry 
fodder.^ Hays found both in North Dakota and Minnesota that 
oats and field peas sown separately produced a better yield of 
grain than a mixture.^ 

406. Oats and Rape. — By sowing one pound of rape seed 
with six pecks of oats the Iowa Station produced sixty bushels 
of oats, while in October the rape produced eighteen tons of 
green substance per acre.^ In order to avoid interference with 
harvesting oats, rape should be sown two to three weeks later 
than the oats. The rape may be pastured or plowed under as 
green manure. 

" There is no doubt but that the first step in the economical use of phosphates 
is to imitate nature and endeavor to keep the soil well supplied with organic 
matter ; for it is only by such means that the phosphates contained in the soil 
naturally and those applied artificially can be fully utilized by the cultivated crops. 

" It is very evident from all the tests cited that some crops, particularly the 
turnip family, have a greater ability than others to use crude or insoluble phosphates, 
and these experiments would certainly teach that the aim should be to employ such 
crops for rendering insoluble phosphates available, and by such a practice save 
much that is now being spent for sulphuric acid and the cost of manufacturing the 
soluble phosphates." ■* 

407 Treatment of Seed. — All seed oats should be treated 
for loose smut. (415) The same methods may be employed 
that are recommended for stinking smut on wheat, the formalin 
treatment being the most commonly used. (149) The solution 

1 Ont. Agr. Col. and Expt. Farms Rpt. 1901, p. 99. 

2 No. Dak. Bui. 10 (1893), P- 44. and Minn. I'.ul. 20 (1S92), p. 35. 
8 Iowa Bui. 45 (1900), p. 216. 

* H. J. Patterson, in article on Phosphates, Penn. State Dept. of Agr. Bui. 94. 



302 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



may be sprinkled over the oats, the grain being stirred mean- 
while, when one gallon of the solution will be sufficient for four 
bushels of oats ; or the oats may be placed in gunny sacks and 
submerged in the liquid for ten minutes. The sacks are then 
allowed to drain for several minutes, when the oats are spread 
out to dry. In this case more liquid will be required. 

408. Rate of Seeding. — The rate is not materially modified 
by the thickness of seeding within certain limits. The oat 
plant, like the wheat plant, has the ability to adapt itself to its 
surroundings, so that where it is thinly planted it stools more 
than where thickly planted. On some soils, at least, the thinly 
sown oats are later in maturing, and the proportion of straw is 
greater. No definite rule can be laid down, but sowing from 
two to three bushels, according to fertility of soil, preparation of 
seed bed, manner of seeding and size of seed may be taken as 
a safe guide for spring sowing in Northern States. The number 
of seeds in a pound of oats has been found to vary with differ- 
ent varieties from about 11,000 to about 30,000. The following 
table shows the rate of seeding per acre which gave the most 
satisfactory results at the several stations indicated : 

Rate of Sowing in Pecks per Acre. 



Illinois . 
Indiana 
Kansas 
Kentucky 
Minnesota . 
North Dakota 
Ohio . 
Pennsylvania 
South Dakota 
Utah . 



Station 



Bulletin 



41 
50 
74 
23 
40 

39 
138 
Rpt. li 

17 
56 



No. years' 
test 



No. pecks 



16 
8 
9 
9 
9-10 

14 
12 
8 



CULTURE OF OATS 



S'^S 



409. Time of Sowing in Southern States. — In sowing winter 
varieties in the Southern States the best results are usually 
obtained by sowing between October ist and November 15 th. 
Not infrequently, however, the seeding is delayed until Decem- 
ber. In the South the so-called spring seeding may take place 
in January, February and March, according to location, February 
being generally best. 

" The rule of sowing in tiie 'twelve' days following Christmas day never haa any 
basis in sound reason, and it is believed to be about the most inauspicious time that 
could be hit upon, it being generally the very coldest period of winter." 1 

It is believed to be good practice to reserve a few acres for 
spring seeding in case the fall sown oats are winter killed. If 
not winter killed this smaller area is sown to a spring variety ; if 
winter killed the larger area is sown to a spring variety and the 
smaller area to a winter variety in order to secure seed again. 



Station 



Ont. & Quebec 

Maritime Prov. 
Manitoba . 
Northwest Ter. 
Brit. Columbia 
Illinois 
Kansas 
Kentucky . 
Minnesota . 
Pennsylvania 
Utah 



Bulletin 


No. of 
seasons 


Cen. Expt. 
Farm 21 


5 


" 


4 


" 


3 


" 


4 


" 


4 


41 


5 


74 


5 


23 


I 


40 


I 


Rpt. 1891 


I 


56 


4 



Earliest 



Apr. 13-22 

Apr. 27-30 
Apr. 23-May 2 
Apr. 6-24 
Apr. 12-24 
March 15 
March i 
March 22 
April 22 
April 8 
April 22 



Best 



Apr. 13-22 

Apr. 27-30 

May 7-9 

Apr. 27-May 16 

May 17-25 
Mch. 28 Apr. 8 
March 9-16 
March 22 
April 27 
April 8-15 
April 22 



Latest 



May 18- June 12 

June 1-13 

May 30-June 5 

May 11-29 

May 17-29 

May 10 

May 3 
April 12 

May 7 

May 6 

June I 



410. Time of Sowing in Northern States. — Since oats require 
a moist, cool climate for their best development, they should be 
sown as early in the spring as possible. Experiments indicate 
that there is a marked decrease both in yield and the weight 
per bushel when the seeding is delayed. With maize the time 

1 Ga. Bui. 44, p. 10. 



304 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 





No. years 




Depth, 


Bulletin 


tested 




inches 


41 


6 




I 


23 


I 




2 


40 


I I 


I 


-2 2 1-2 


lOI 


4 




I 2 



of planting, within four or five weeks during any season, is not 
especially important. Such a difference in time of sowing oats 
may make the difference between success and failure. The 
table on page 303 shows the best dates as determined at the sta- 
tions indicated, as well as indicating the period of the tests. 

411. Depth of Sowing. — The depth of sowing between one to 
four inches does not materially influence the yield, although the 
best results have been obtained with sowing from one to two 
inches, as shown in the following table : 

Station • 

Illinois .... 
Kentucky .... 
Minnesota .... 
Ohio .... 

The same principles apply 
here as with maize and wheat. 
(130, 300) 

412. Methods of Sowing. — 
Unless the land is plowed, oats 
must, of course, be sown broad- 
cast. On plowed land the prac- 
tice is divided, but broadcasting 
is probably the most general, 
the controlling reason being that 
they can be somewhat more 
cheaply sown in this way than 
if the drill is used. The experi- 
mental evidence does not clearly 

permanent roots is not influenced by the indicate any lUCreaSC in ylcld 

depth of seeding. In the plants on the left from either method, much ap- 

the permanent roots will arise at the point i i t i 

where the culm enlarges. (About one- PareUtly dcpCudmg Upon SOll, 

fourth natural size.) scason, preparation of seed bed, 

depth of seeding, and quantity of seed used. If drouth prevails 




Wheat roots, showing that the depth of the 



CULTURE OF OATS 



305 




at or just after seeding, or soil is of a character to sufTer from 
dry weather, drilling would be preferred. If drilling is accom- 
panied by better preparation of seed bed, it is to be preferred. 
Broadcasting requires more seed, 'perhaps a half bushel to the 
acre more, much depending upon 
the preparation of the seed bed. 
The same seeding machinery de- 
scribed for sowing wheat may be 
used for oats. (135) The broad- 
cast seeder attached to the end 
gate of a wagon is widely used 

where oats follow maize without Broadcast seeder attached to the end gate 

of farm wagon and driven by rear wheel. 
plowing. Kansas Station found Drawing on the right shows hopper with 

during seven years an average of ^"" ''"^ attachment. 
twenty-six bushels by broadcasting and thirty bushels by drill- 
ing. Slightly better results have been obtained by using the 
shoe drill with press wheels than by the shoe drill without press 
wheel or by hoe drill.' 

413. Method of Fall Sowing. — The Georgia Station recom- 
mends the following method to prevent winter killing : 

" On the station farm we have found, even when the drills were laid two feet or 
one and a half feet apart, using a common scooter plow, or, better, a single-row fer- 
tilizer and seed distributer — that 
oats so sown always produce a 
larger yield than when sown 
broadcast and harrowed in. But 
a more important discovery is 
the fact that when the seed are 
sown in open furrows and barely 
covered, leaving the furrows open 
or unfilled, the oat plants are 
very much less liable to be killed 
by a severe freeze. The idea was 
conceived several years ago, and 
annually since we have sown the 
larger portion of the fall-sown area in drills eighteen to twenty-four inches 
apart, latterly using a Gantt fertilizer distributer. This sows but one row at a 




Grain and fertilizer drill recommended by Georgia Sta 
tion for fall seedmg of oats. The covering attach 
ments, a, are removed when sowing oats. 



1 Kan. Bui. 74, p. 200. 



3o6 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



time, has no covering attachment, but simply opens a small furrow and sows the 
seed. The result is the plants come up one and a half to two inches below the gen- 
eral surface, and the ' crown ' of each plant is formed and established say two to 
two and a half inches below the general surface. The winter rains, light freezes 
and thaws gradually but only partly fill in the open furrow, and the more vital and 
sensitive parts of the plants are left at the original depth, below the reach of even 
very severe freezes." 1 



IV. 



WEEDS, FUNGOUS DISEASES AND INSECT ENEMIES. 




',^^^: 



Homemade spraying apparatus for killing wild 
mustard ; also used for spraying potatoes. 

414. Weeds. — The oat, like all other spring 
sown cereals, is apt to be infested with any weeds 
whose seeds happen to be present in the soil. 
Weeds are frequently a hindrance to the proper 
curing of the crop. In the Northern States the 
most conspicuous weed in the oat crop is the wild 
m.istard, which may be eradicated by spraying 
the oats with a three per cent solution of copper 
sulphate at the rate of fifty gallons of the solution 
per acre. (144) 

415. Fungous Diseases. — The oat plant is 
generally exceptionally free from insect enemies 
and fungous diseases. Besides the two species 
of rust occurring upon wheat (146) there occurs 
also on oats crown rust {^Pucciiiia coronata Cda.), 
so called from the horn-like projections on the 
teleutospores. No remedy is known. There are two forms of smut, namely, loose 
smut ( Ustilago ave?tae (Pers.) Jens.) and covered smut ( Ustilago avoiae laevis (Jens.) 
Kell. and Swing.). The first form, which is most common, converts the entire 
spikelet into smut spores, while in the second only the kernel is so affected. Both 
are successfully prevented by treating with hot water or formalin. (149) A bac- 




Loose smut on oats. Glumes moro 
fully destroyed in specimen on the 
right. 



1 Ga. Bui. 44 (i8S9),p. 11. 



ENEMIES OF OATS 307 

terial disease sometimes causes the deatli of tlie lower l?aves and more or less 
yellowing of the young plants, l Xo remedy has been discovered. 

416. Insect Enemies. — There is no insect which confines its attacks io the 
oat plant, and aside from the chinch bug (151), grasshoppers and fall army worm, 
there is none that causes extensive and serious damage to the growing plant. (153) 
The stored grain is less seriously attacked, doubtless on account of its hull. 

1 Journal of Mycology, Vol. VI, p 72. 



^ 



XX. 

OATS. 

I. HARVESTING AND USES. 

417. Time and Method of Harvesting. — The evidence appears 
to be that oats may be cut when one-half the leaves are still 
green and the grain in the early dough, without materially in- 
juring the chemical composition or the yield of grain, and that 
the yield and quality of the straw may be increased provided 
the sheaves are immediately shocked and capped to permit slow 
curing and ripening.^ (161) Cutting in the hard dough stage 
and slow curing in round shocks is generally desirable, but 
when weeds abound or for other reasons rapid curing is neces- 
sary, long shocks are better. Oats may be cut for hay while 
the grain is in the milk stage with mowing machine and treated 
as any other hay crop, or may be cut with self-binding harvester 
and put in round shocks of six bundles each, with one bundle 
for a cap. The methods of harvesting, threshing and storing 
of oats are similar to those of wheat. (162, 167, 168, 169) 
The Ohio Station found the shrinkage of grain between Sep- 
tember and March of iifty-five varieties to be less than one per 
cent, and of a sample of baled oat straw during the same period 
about six per cent.^ Michigan Station obtained similar results 
with the grain two years, and a loss of three per cent another 
year.^ 

418. Uses. — Oats are the chief grain food for horses, and are 
equally acceptable to and desirable for cattle and sheep, but 

1 111. Bui. 31 ; Kan. Buls. 13, 29, 54. 

2 Ohio Bui. 57 (1894), p. III. 

3 Mich. Bui. 191 (1901), p. 169. 



USES OF OATS 



309 



are not as largely used for these classes of live stock because of 
the relatively high price as compared with other concentrates. 
They are not adapted to swine, because of their high percentage 
of crude fiber due to the hull. Oats are used largely in connec- 
tion with and interchangeably with maize. If one is more 
plentiful, and, therefore, cheaper than the other, it is used more 
abundantly. Hence in considering the possibility of a rise or 
fall in price of either, the combined yield of the two cereals 
must be ascertained. In the Southern States, where it is diffi- 
cult to grow our tame grasses for pasturage and hay, special 
varieties have been developed for this purpose. (387) When 
cut in the milk and properly cured they make a palatable and 
nutritious food for domestic animal's. (383) 

Oat straw is preferred to wheat and rye straw as food for 
cattle awd sheep, and by some for bedding, although it will not 
last as long, hence is less generally purchased for this purpose. 
It is less valuable than either for the manufacture of paper. 

419. Oats for Human Food. — As prepared for human food, 
they are the most nutritious of our cereals. The consumption 
of oatmeal has increased enormously in recent years, and has 
led to the introduction of many other forms of so-called break- 
fast foods. Oatmeal is especially adapted to people living in 
northern climates or those having plenty of outdoor exercise. 
It is said that in eastern Scotland the unmarried plowmen lived 
solely on oatmeal and milk, except in the winter, when they 
sometimes got potatoes. They were allowed seventeen and 
one-half pounds of oatmeal weekly, and three to four pints of 
milk daily. This formed their sole diet, with no other cooking 
than boiling water stirred into the meal. These men were 
strong and healthy. The witty Dr. Johnson sarcastically 
remarked : " Oats is a grain fed to horses in England, but eaten 
by men in Scotland." "Yes,' said a Scotchman, "and I have 
noticed that they grow the best of horses in England and the 
best of men in Scotland " 



3IO 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



420. By-Products. — About the only manufacturing industry 
based upon the oat grain is the oatmeal industry, and about the 
only by-product is the hull. Oat hulls are largely used to adul- 
terate maize meal, when it frequently passes for maize and 
oatmeal under the name of corn and oat feed. These oat hulls 
have but little food value. (^S;^) 



II. PRODUCTION AND MARKETING. 

421. Oat Crop of the World. — The production of oats in the 
world has varied during the five years 1898 to 1902 inclusive 
from 2,806 millions (190 1) to 3,561 millions (1902) per annum, 
the average annual production being 3,131 million bushels. 
The following table shows the average annual production for 
five years by continents in million bushels : 

1 898- 1 902 
Europe . . . . . . . 2,103 



North America 
Asia . 
Australasia 
Africa 

Total 



944 

25 

7 



The production exceeds wheat and about equals maize in 
bushels but is less than either in pounds. The production in 
bushels of oats in Canada is about twice that of wheat. Onta- 
rio produces more oats than any State of the United States 
except Illinois and Iowa. Oats are only sparingly cultivated in 
South America. 

422. Oat Crop of the United States. — Oats stand third in 
acreage and value of product and second in number of bushels 
of the cereals of the United States. The annual production 
for the three decades, 1870-79, 1880-89 and 1890-99, is given 
as follows : 



PRODUCTION OF OATS 

Yield and Value of Oats for Three Decades. 



3" 





1870-79 


1880-89 


1890-99 


Area, acres .... 


11,000,000 


22,000,000 


27,000,000 


Yield, bushels 


314,000,000 


584,000,000 


695,000,000 


Value, dollars 


1 11,000,000 


181,000,000 


189,000,000 


Value per bushel, dollars 


0-35 


0.31 


0.28 


Yield p?r acre, bushels , 


28.4 


26.6 


26.2 


Value par acre, dollars . 


10.00 


S.22 


7-34 



About one-tenth the area in field and garden crops, not count- 
ing pasture, is in oats, thirty-seven per cent of the farms reporting 
this crop. The vakie per acre is less than any other important 
cereal crop and like other cereals is decreasing in value. Ten 
States produced eighty per cent of the oat crop in igoo, all but 
New York and Pennsylvania being North Central States. Prob- 
ably three-fourths of the oats of the United States are produced 
north of the fortieth parallel and east of the looth meridian. 

423. Yield per Acre. — The average annual yield per acre 
of oats during the decade 1893-1902 was 27.8 bushels. The 
areas of maximum production per acre in 1899 embraced 
the northern parts of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois and parts 
of Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, the yield 
being more than thirty-six bushels per acre. The yield per 
acre in the South Atlantic division was less than ten bushels 
over nearly one-half the area, and with a few exceptions did not 
exceed twenty bushels. Sixty to seventy-five bushels of oats is 
considered a good yield and forty to fifty bushels a fairly satis- 
factory yield in the Northern States. In Canada the yield per 
acre is considerably higher than in the United States, 100 
bushels per acre being frequently reported. 

424. Progress of Oat Production. — The production of oats 
has about doubled in proportion to population during the last 
half of the century. The production rose between 1880 and 



312 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



IRIULLMS 



1890 from about 400 million to 800 million, the most phenom- 
enal increase in the 
production of any 
crop in America at 
any period. 

425. Center of Pro- 
duction. — The center 
of production of oats 
has shifted westward 
and northward, as is 



. ^—y'. 



Relative increase in the population and in the production 
of oats in the United States during a half century. 



shown by the fact that while New York, Pennsylvania and 
Ohio were the center of the crop in 1850, now (1900) the con- 
centration is in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. This represents 
a movement in the last half century of a little less than 120 
miles northward (to 41° 39' 15" N. Lat.) and about 575 miles 
westward (to 91° 8' 11" W. Long.). This shows a northward 
movement of oat produc- 
tion twenty-one miles more 
than of wheat and 115 
miles more than of maize, 
while the westward move- 
ment has been ninety-five 
miles more than of maize 
and 105 miles less than of 
wheat. 

The increasing use to 
which maize is being put as feed for milch cows is largely 
responsible for the relatively decreased area devoted to oat 
production in some States, as is shown by the fact that the 
majority of the States which reported decreased acreages in 
oats reported increased acreages in maize. These States were 
principally in the dair)' sections. 

426. Export of Oats. — The quantity of oats exported is small 
compared with wheat or maize, although increasing relatively 




Map showing the production of oats in the United 
States in 1900. 



HISTORY OF OATS 313 

more rapidly than either. The export of both grain and oat- 
meal has about trebled during five years, while wheat and maize 
have about doubled. (189, 364) The principal importers of grain 
are Great Britain and South Africa ; and of oatmeal, Great 
Britain, Germany, Netherlands and South Africa. 

427. Commercial Grades. — The Illinois Board of Railroad and 
Warehouse Commissioners recognizes the following classes and 
grades of oats : 

White oats, Nos. i, 2, 3 and 4. 
White clipped oats, Nos. i , 2 and 3. 
Oats, Nos. I, 2, 3 and 4. 

In the Chicago market much the larger proportion of oats 
dealt in are white oats, and usually more of No. 3 than No. 4, 
more of No. 4 than No. 2, while seldom does a car grade No. i. 
The following are the rules for grading white oats : 

" No. I white oats shall be white, sound, clean, and reasonably free from other 
grain. 

" No. 2 white oats shall be seven-eighths white, sweet, reasonably clean and rea- 
sonably free from other grain. 

" No. 3 white oats shall be seven-eighths white, but not sufficiently sound and 
clean for No. 2. 

" No. 4 white oats shall be seven-eighths white, damp, badly damaged, musty, or 
for any other cause unfit for No. 3." 

The rules for white clipped oats are identical for similar grades, 
except No. i white clipped oats must weigh thirty-six pounds ; No. 
2, thirty-four pounds, and No. 3, twenty-eight pounds to the meas- 
ured bushel, while white oats are not graded by weight. The 
rules for grading oats are identical with those for white oats, 
except where color is indicated it reads " mixed oats." 

III. HISTORY. 

428. History. — While the origin of the cultivation of wheat 
can be traced with some probability to a warm climate, and that 
of rye to a cold climate, oats we find Occupying an intermediate 
position. They were not cultivated by the ancient Egyptians 



314 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

or» the Hebrews, as was wheat. Neither the ancient Greeks nor 
the ancient Romans cultivated them. They were likewise 
unknown to the ancient Chinese or the people of India. 

All evidence points to eastern temperate Europe, and pos- 
sibly Tartary, in western Asia, as the probable place of their 
first cultivation. They were cultivated by the prehistoric 
inhabitants of central Europe, but did not appear, it is believed, 
until long after wheat and barley. Hence they were less 
important in the early history of our race than either of the last 
named crops or rye. When central and northern Europe 
became civilized the cultivation of oats became vastly more 
important, becoming in some of the cool, moist climates north 
the most important cereal used for man's food. In Scotland it 
occupies one-third the land in cultivated crops, excluding land 
in pastures and meadows. In Ireland it constitutes one-half of 
all the grain and green crops. 

Practicums. 

429. Method of Cross-Fertilization. — Cross-fertilization in oats may be 
effected in a manner similar to that of wheat. (196) Remove all spikelets of the 
panicle which are not to be crossed and remove the upper flower of the remaining 
spikelet and cross the lower one. 

430. Plant in the Field. — Each student should be given a printed or 
typewritten sheet, as indicated bslow, and requested to describe two or more 
varieties of oats growing in the field by underscoring the adjective which most 
nearly applies to the condition found. 

1. Height of culm: average of ten culms to tip of outer glume on upper 

spikelet . . . 

2. Vigor of plant : strong; medium; weak. 

7 Diameter below panicle : average of ten culms . . . 

4 Depth of furrow below panicle : furrowed ; medium ; smooth. 

5 Upper part of culm: solid; semi-solid; hollow. 
6. Wall of culm : thick ; medium ; thin. 

/. Color of culm: light yellow; yellow; bronze. 

8. Foliage: scanty: medium; abundant. 

9. Rust : leaves, per cent . . . ; culms, per cent , . , 

10. Smut: percent . . . 

11. Panicle: open; partly closed; closed. 

12. Flowering glumss : beardless; partly bearded. 



I 



OATS : PRACTICUMS 



315 



13. Beards: long; medUiin short; straight; twisted. 

14. Color of leaves : light green ; medium green ; dark green. 

15. Leaf blade: average length of ten blades . . 

16. Leaf blade : average width of maximum dimensions of ten blades . . . 

17. Leaf blade : erect; ascending; drooping. 

18. Leaf blade : smooth; rough; downy. 

19. Ligule : large; medium; small. 

431. Mature Dried- Plant in Laboratory. — Proceed as in paragraph 
above. If opportunity to study varieties in the field is lacking, some of the items 
above may be included here. If only a field practicum is desired, some of the items 
below may be included above. 

1. Length of panicle : average of five panicles from base of lower whorl to tip of 

flowering glume of upper spikelet . . . 

2. Number of whorls: average of five panicles . . . 

3. Number of main branches : average of five panicles . . . 

4. Number of spikelets : average of five panicles . . 

5. \'ariation in length of pedicel: . . . to . . . 

6. Number of grains: average of five panicles . . . 

7. Number of grains per spikelet . . . 

8. Weight of grains : average of five panicles . . ; weight per 100 

grains . . . 

9. Relative size of lower and upper grains of spikelet: weight of twenty-five 

lower grains . . . ; weight of twenty-five upper grains . . . 

10. Per cent of kernel: weight of 100 grains . . .; weight of 100 kernels 

. . . ; per cent . . . 

11. Plumpness: plump; medium; inflated. 

12. Flowering glume : thick; medium; thin. 

13. Length: twenty-five grains from base to tip of flowering glume . . .; 

twenty-five kernels . . . 

14. Density : weight per bushel obtained by weighing one pint . . . 

15. Color of grain : light yellow ; yellow; gray; reddish brown ; black. 

432. Soil Fertility in Relation to Oats.— Provide each student with ten 
three-gallon earthen jars, which each may fill with earth 
secured from home farm or elsewhere. Make application 
of plant food as follows : 

1. None. 

2. Nitrogen. 

3. Phosphorus. 

4. Potassium. 

5. None. 

6. Nitrogen and phosphorus. 

7. Nitrogen and potassium. 

8. Phosphorus and potassium. 

9. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. 

10. None. 




3i6 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



Nitrogen may be obtained by applying sixteen grams of dried blood or twelve 
grams of nitrate of soda ; phosphorus by applying twenty-four grams of acid rock 
phosphate or dissolved boneblack ; and potassium by applying four grams of potas- 
sium chloride. The fertilizers should be thoroughly mixed with the soil to a depth 
of six inches. 

433. Influence of Size of Seed on Early Stages of Plant Growth. — 
Divide sample of oats into large, medium and small grains. This may be done by 
hand selection or by means of a nest of sieves. Obtain weight of fifty grains of 



f 




000 

bood 
00 

DOO^ 
r\r\ r\ 



000000 
0000000 

000000 
o_o 00000 



000000 
0000000 

000000 
0^0 o 0000 

000000 
o^o„o 0000 

000000^ 

00000 00 



uauuuuu 



<J \J \J \J \J \J \J 



nr^rinr^r^r^ 



o o o o q 
po o o o 
o o o o d 




On the right, a nest of sieves for cleaning seeds ; on the left, sieves with holes of 
various sizes, forms and positions. For further information see U. S. Dept. of 
Agr. Yearbook I 894, p. 406. 

each and plant under similar conditions either in the field or in the plant house, 
taking care to cover the seeds a uniform depth. If in pots or trays in pot house, 
the soil can be removed more easily from the roots. 

Note time required for plants to come up and number of plants produced. Obtain 
average height at end of each week. At end of three or four weeks, depending upon 
growth, obtain fresh and water-free weight of each lot of seedlings. Make sketches 
of the more important differences in roots and leaves of the different lots, if any. 

434. Influence of Treatment of Seed Upon Germination. — Having 
carefully graded a sufficient quantity of oats, treat fifty grains each of the following 
Y/ays: 



oats: collateral reading 317 

1. Nothing. 

2. Immerse in water at 70° F. for four hours. 

3. Immerse in water at 70° F. for ten minutes. 

4. Immerse in water at 133° F. for ten minutes. 

5. Immerse in water at 70° F. for forty hours, and then at 70° F. for five minutes. 

6. Immerse i^n one-fourth per cent solution of formaUn for thirty minutes. 

7. Immerse in one-half solution of formalin tor thirty minutes. 

8. Sprinkle with No. 6 solution without immersing. 

9. Immerse in two per cent solution of copper sulphate for ten minutes. 
10. Nothing. 

After treatment all lots are to be dried as much as they would need to be in order 
to ba sown in a grain drill. Place in germinator at 70° F. and determine the num- 
ber of seeds which have germinated at the end of twenty-four hours for five days. 
(475) Lots of seed may also be grown as in (433). 

435. Collateral Reading. 
The Leading Cereal Crops in Canada. By Wm. Saunders. E.xperimental Farms 

Rpt. 1903, pp. 6-33. 
Farm Manure. By A. Hebart. E. S. R. V, pp. 139-158. 
Origin of Cultivated Plants. By A. De CandoUe. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 

(1902), pp. Z7y37(> 



XXI. 

BARLEY. 

I. STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION. 

436. Relationships. — Barley {Hordeum sativum Jensen) 
belongs to the same tribe as wheat and rye, and differs from 
both in that the spikelets are one-flowered, and in having more 
than one spikelet at the joint of each rachis. 

437. The Plant. — Aside from the spike, the barley plant has 
much the same appearance and habit of growth as wheat. 
Usually the culms are not so tall, and are perhaps more varia- 
ble on account of environment. Wisconsin Station found with 
several varieties during five years an average of one pound of 
straw for each pound of grain, there being considerably less 
straw than is usually obtained with wheat or oats.^ In a com- 
parative trial the proportion of top to root in weight of dry 
matter was 3.3 to one in barley and 2.2 to one in oats.^ The 
indication is that it is more shallow rooted than wheat, maize 
or oats. Although the roots grow rapidly, they are compara- 
tively feeble and short lived. 

438. The Inflorescence. — The spikelets are one-flowered, ses- 
sile, thus forming a spike. The outer glumes are almost awl- 
shaped, three-eighths inch long with flexible beard one-half to 
three-fourths inch long. Flowering glume, which with palea is 
adherent to fruit, is prolonged into a stiff beard six to eight 
inches long with strongly barbed edges, making barley a disa- 
greeable crop to handle, although the objection to the beards 

1 Wis. Rpt. 1903, p. 268. 

2 Wis. Rpt. 1892, p. 119. 



1 



STRUCTUUK OF HARLKY 



319 



has been considerably lessened by the introduction of the self- 
binding harvester, and in the Western States by the header and 
combined harvester and thresher. As there are three spikelets 
at each joint of the rachis, each joint bears six outer glumes. 
There are three stamens and a double feathery stigma similar 
to wheat. In the six-rowed type there are three spikelets at 
each joint of the rachis, and these joints are close together, thus 
forming a square, rather compact spike, which may be four or 
six-rowed, depending upon whether or not the side rows overlap. 

439. The Grain. — The barley kernel, like the oat kernel, 
remains enclosed, except in hull-less varieties, in the flowering 
glume and palea, from which it is with some difficulty removed. 
These parts are called the 
hull, sometimes the husk. 
In this book the caryopsis 
of the barley will be called 
the kernel, and the kernel 
plus the hull will be called 
the grain. (388) Although 
the grain of barley is quite 
different in appearance from 
a grain of wheat, when the hull is removed the resemblance is 
quite close, having like wheat a deep furrow on the side oppo- 
site the embryo. It is somewhat broader, with sides more 
rounded and upper end more pointed. 

Barley grains are a little wider than thick, varying from one- 
fifth to one-tenth of an inch in width, one-seventh to one-twelfth 
of an inch in thickness, and from one-fourth to one-half of an 
inch in length. The word barleycorn is sometimes used as a 
measure of length, meaning one-third inch. The weight of 100 
grains varies from 2.5 to five grams, the average being about 
3.5 grams, or about 1.300 grains to the pound. In the six- 
rowed barley the lateral grains are slightly smaller than the 
central ones. Two-rowed varieties have plumper and longer 




Selected grains of barley, natural size 
(After Hicks and Dabney.) 



320 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

grains than six-rowed varieties. Grains coming from the 
Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast States are hkewise longer 
and plumper than those from the North Central and North 
Atlantic States. 

440. The Hull. — The hull or husk of barley may constitute 
less than ten per cent or as much as twenty-five per cent of the 
grain. The average is probably about fifteen per cent, or half 
that of the oat grain. Grains of the six-rowed barley have 
thicker hulls than the two-rowed barley. The hull of barley is 
of value in the process of malting by protecting the embryo 
during germination and subsequently acting as a filter when the 
malt is extracted. The rudiment of the second flower is attached 
at the base of the flowering glume and lies almost concealed in 
the furrow next the palea. This feathery appendage about half 
the length of the grain is said to be a ready channel for the 
conveying of moisture to the kernel. 

441. The Character of the Endosperm. — The endosperm 
varies in texture (not structure) and color from mealy white to 
glassy or vitreous. (238) The character of the endosperm varies 
with (i) the variety, the two-rowed being more mealy than the 
six-rowed ; with (2) the maturation, fully but not overripe grains 
being the most mealy ; and with (3) the climate, a moist and 
insular climate being most conducive to complete maturation. 
(74) As in wheat and maize, a glassy or translucent endosperm 
is accompanied by high percentage of protein and a correspond- 
ing decrease of starch. The character of the endosperm may 
be determined by cutting the grain across with a sharp instru- 
ment. In an average of thirty-six samples of American barley, 
Wahl and Henius report sixteen per cent of the grains mealy ; 
fifty-two per cent half glassy, and thirty-two per cent glassy. 
The character of the endosperm may also be determined by 
placing the grains of barley by suitable contrivance between the 
observer and a strong light, when the number of opaque, partly 
opaque and translucent grains may be determined. 



^ 



COMPOSITION OF BARLEY 32 1 

442. The Embryo. — The embryo is very simHar to that of 
wheat. On account of the plumule becoming twisted upon ger- 
mination it is known as the acrosprre. For good malt the 
acrospire should be three-fourths the length of the grain, and 
the radicle or root should be twice that length. 

443. Composition. — Barley grain is more carbonaceous than 
either wheat or oats. The grain has more crude fiber on ac- 
count of its hull ; otherwise its proximate composition is very 
similar to wheat. An analysis of hulled barley is almost identi- 
cal with that of wheat. Barley differs principally from maize 
in having a less per cent of fat and higher per cent of crude 
fiber, Oats contain about three times as much crude fiber as 
barley ; yet the hull of barley is so tough that it is essential to 
grind it before feeding it to domestic animals, while this is not 
necessary with oats. 

Barley also has less fat and more starch, the starch taking 
the place of the extra crude fiber in the oats. Barley straw is 
similar to wheat straw, and barley hay has more protein and less 
crude fiber than timothy hay. No summary of comparative 
analyses of American grown two-rowed and six-rowed varieties 
has been reported. Wahl has reported a two-rowed Variety 
(Chevalier) grown in Montana containing 9.23 per cent of pro- 
tein and a six-rowed variety grown in Minnesota with 15.16 per 
cent protein.^ 

444. "Weight per Bushel. — The legal weight per bushel in 
Canada and most of the States is forty-eight pounds. A 
variation from forty-five to fifty pounds is to be found in other 
States. Variations in weight of measured bushel from forty-two 
to sixty-eight pounds have been recorded. Variations between 
fort\'-five to fifty-five pounds are not uncommon. Hull-less barley 
usually weighs about sixty pounds to the bushel. The weight 
per bushel depends much upon the thoroughness with which 

1 R. Walil : High or low albumen content fn barley malt ? 



322 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

the beards are removed. In order to accomplish the thorough 
removal of beards, the grain is sometimes put through the 
threshing machine a second time. At elevators where much 
barley is shipped special machinery is used for thoroughly scour- 
ing and cleaning it. 

High weight per bushel has been shown to be associated with 
high weight per grain and consequently, other things equal, 
greater yield. Other things equal, high weight per bushel indi- 
cates low percentage of protein and high percentage of kernel 
to grain ; because (i) starch has a higher specific gravity than 
protein, and (2) kernel has a higher specific gravity than hull. 

445. Qualities for Malting. — The abiHty to germinate com- 
pletely, quickly and uniformly are essential qualifications for 
malting. Uniform ripeness, uniform size and purity of variety 
aid uniformity of germination. The two-rowed and six-rowed 
varieties must not be mixed, since the plump grains of the former 
take longer to germinate than the thinner grains although thicker 
hulls of the latter. Barley should be free from impurities, should 
not have broken grains or be threshed too short. 

"A good brewing barley should have a thin, clean, wrinkled husk, closely ad- 
hering to a plump, well fed kernel, which, when broken, appears white and sweet, 
with a germ full and of a pale yellow colour. The specific gravity being between 
1.280 and 1-333, ^^^ weighing from 53 to 58 poundsl per bushel." 2 

The European maltsters almost universally prefer a mealy 
endosperm rather than a glassy one. The higher percent- 
age of protein decreases the percentage of starch and this 
lowers the percentage of malt extract. In addition to this, 
the higher percentage of protein causes a larger percentage of 
protein in the beer. Some of the protein compounds are insolu- 
ble at high and low temperatures but are soluble at ordinary 
temperatures. When beer is placed upon ice these protein 

• Imperial bushel, 2,218.2 cu. in.; United States Standard (Winchester) bushel 
2,150.42 cu. in. 

2 Quoted in Can. Expt. Farms Rpt. 1895, p. 231. 



VARIETIES OF BARLEY 323 

compounds are precipitated, causing a hazy appearance in the 
beer which is not desired, particularly when bottled. It is now 
claimed, however, that during the process of beer making these 
insoluble proteids may be changed into soluble proteids if proper 
conditions are offered, by a peptonizing enzyme which occurs 
naturally during the process of malting barley. The conditions 
which favor the development of the enzyme are time and tempera- 
ture. The longer the growth of the malt and the lower the 
initial mashing temperature, the more fully will the insoluble 
proteids be made soluble and the more readily will the remaining 
insoluble proteids be precipitated by cold storage. 

446. Germination. — The maximum, minimum and best tem- 
perature of the germination of barley is practically identical with 
that of wheat. Saunders tested the viability of two varieties of 
barley during six years as follows: 97; 91; 79; 36; 20; 8.^ Todaro 
found the germination of barley to decrease in four years from 
eighty-seven to fiftj'-eight per cent.^ The vitality of barley is 
easily injured by heating in stack or bin. In practice, barley 
that is more than two years old is not considered safe for malting 
purpose, but its germinating power increases for a few months 
after threshing, especially if it has not been stacked. A distinc- 
tion is made between germinative capacity and germinative 
energy. The former is its capacity to germinate irrespective of 
time, and should not be below ninety-five per cent; while germina- 
tive energy is the ability to germinate within a definite time, and 
should not be below seventy per cent at the end of two days or 
ninety per cent at the end of three days at a temperature of 
80° F. 

II. VARIETIES. 

447. Species. — There are two well-marked types of barley: 
(i) six-rowed barley {Honleutn sativum JicxasticJion Hackel), 

1 Can. Expt. Farms Rpt. 1903, p. 44. 

2 Staz. Sper. Agr. Ital. 31 (1898), No. 6, pp. 525-563. E. S. R. XI, 157. 



324 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



and (2) two-rowed barley {H. sat. distichon Hackel). In the 
six-rowed type there are three spikelets each bearing a single 

grain arranged alternately at 
each joint of the rachis, thus 
making a spike with six rows 
of grains. When the lateral 
or outside grains of the alter- 
nate sets overlap in such a 




Six-rowed barley : on the left three single grained 
spikelets at one joint of the rachis, each with 
two outer glumes, c. In the spike on the right 
there are in view only two rows made up of the 
cuter grains, a, of the spikelets upon opposite 
sides of the rachis. Spikelet, natural size; 
spike, one-third natural size. 

manner as to form one instead of 
two rows on each side, the type is 
known as four-rowed barley {H. 
sat. vulgare Hackel), frequently 
called bere or bigg in England. 
In the six-rowed type it not infre- 
quently happens that it is only four- 
rowed towards the tip of the spike. 




Two-rowed barley: on the left, three 
spikelets at one joint of the rachis, 
the outer two, a, being rudimentary, 
the middle one, /;, only having devel- 
oped into a grain ; c, outer glume. 
The rudimentary, a, and developed, 
b, grain are shown in spike on the 
right. Spikelet, natural size ; spike, 
one-third natural size. 



VARIETIES OF BARLEY 



325 



In the two-rowed type the lateral grains have failed to 
develop through the abortion of the ovulary, although the stamens 
may be present. The flowering glume and palea remain in a 
somewhat rudimentary form, while the outer glumes are fully 
developed. In the six-rowed type the joints of the .^ 

rachis are closer together and less in number, making 
a shorter and much more compact spike than in the 
two-rowed, but with grains somewhat more numerous. 
In the two-rowed type the spike is distinctly com- 
pressed laterally, while in the six-rowed an end view 
is somewhat star-shaped. The two-rowed varieties 
have the greater tendency to tiller.^ There is a 
hull-less barley {H. miditju L.), also known as 
naked or bald barley. This type is beardless, and 
is divided into white, purple and black varieties, beardless bar- 

'■ '■ ley. One- 

There are also beardless varieties among the types third natural 

which retain the hulls. ^''^' 

It is probable that all these different types are due to cultiva- 
tion. Which is the original type appears less clear. Hackel 
believes that cultivated barley originated from H. spontanetim 
C. Koch, which resembles closely the two-rowed type.^ On the 
other hand, it appears that the type most universally cultivated 
from earliest times has been the six-rowed type ; the widespread 
cultivation of the two-rowed type in Europe being compara- 
tively recent, although of its ancient culture there is no doubt.' 

448. Two and Six-Rowed Varieties. — At the present time, 
two-rowed barley is almost universally raised in Europe for the 
production of malt. When the four or six-rowed barley is 
raised there it is generally used as food for domestic animals. 
The two-rowed varieties appear to be preferred by European 
makers because of their thin hull and low per cent of protein, 

1 Soc. Prom. Agr. Sci., 1899, p. 80. 

2 True Grasses, p. 189. 

8 De Candolle: Origin of Cultivated Plants, p. 367. 



326 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

both contributing to a higher per cent of malt extract. In 
America, the six-rowed barley is grown chiefly, although not 
exclusively, and is freely used in the production of malt. (445) 
In a comparative test of two-rowed and six-rowed varieties at 
the Central Experimental Farms of Canada, the former were 
from five to twelve days later in maturing. At the five experi- 
mental farms of the Dominion the average yield during several 
years was about the same for both types. At the Central 
Station at Ottawa, where the conditions correspond to those of 
Ontario and Quebec, the six-rowed varieties yielded about one- 
fifth more grain.^ Similar results have been obtained on the 
Ontario Agricultural College Farm at Guelph.^ While giving 
fair returns, the Wisconsin Station found the two-rowed varie- 
ties to have frail straw, and, therefore, to lodge badly.^ 

449. "Winter and Spring Varieties. — The two-rowed barley is 
a spring variety. The six-rowed is both fall and spring sown. 
Fifty years ago barley was commonly fall sown in Missouri, 
Kentucky and southern Ohio, but the practice of fall sowing 
has largely disappeared and spring sowing, usually further 
north, has taken its place. It is claimed, and it seems prob- 
able, that in some instances winter strains were converted into 
spring strains by spring sowing. Soule states that the 
Tennessee Station has obtained as good results with fall sown 
barley as Northern States usually obtain with spring sown. 
Maryland Station obtained a yield of forty-eight bushels with 
winter barley and twenty-six bushels with spring barley.* Very 
little barley, however, of any sort is raised in the Southern 
States, and then chiefly for pasturage. 

450. Varieties. — There are three types of barley grown in 
North America known to the trade as quite distinct : viz., Scotch, 

1 Can. Expt. Farms Bui. 21, p. 40. 

S Ont. Agr. Col. and Expt. Farms Rpt. 1900. 

3 Wis. Rpt. 1903, p. 265. 

4 Md. Bui. 35, p. 191. 



\ 



VARIETIES OF BARLEY 327 

Bay Brewing and Chevalier. (473) The use of these terms in 
trade does not correspond closely to variety types. 

Scotch is a six-rowed barley said to have been introduced 
into Wisconsin from Canada in 1866 by William Buchheit, 
Waterton, Wis. It has since been largely raised in Wisconsin, 
Iowa and Minnesota. Bay Brewing or California Bay is a six- 
lowed variety originally raised in a small district lying south of 
the Bay of San Francisco, but now more widely distributed 
in California. Chevalier is a well-known European two-rowed 
variety said to have been originated in 18 19 through selection 
by the Rev. J. Chevalier, rector of Stoneham, Suffolk, England. 
Manshury is a standard variety that has been tested and dis- 
tributed by the Wisconsin Station. 

"This variety originated in Manchuria, China. A scientific traveler in 1859 
brought some from Eastern Asia to Germany, and it was grown in the King's garden 
at Sans Souci with success. Dr. Herman Grunow, Mifflin, Iowa county, Wis., while 
on a visit to Germany was advised to try some in America, and brought home with 
him two pounds of the seed. This was sown and compared with about a dozen 
othe»' varieties and proved much superior to any on trial." ^ 

Oderbrucker, a six-rowed variety imported from Germany by 
the Ontario Agricultural College, resembles Manshury closely. 
Among fourteen stations in the United States and Canada which 
have tested varieties of barley for periods from one to ten years, 
twelve included Manshury (six-rowed) and eight Chevalier (two- 
rowed) among their recommended list of varieties. No other 
variety is recommended by four stations. 

The yield of grain of hull-less varieties is usually less than 
varieties bearing hulls, due in part to the absence of the hulls. 
The straw is weaker and more liable to lodge, thus further re- 
ducing the yield harvested. The Ontario Agricultural College, 
as the result of testing eight varieties of hull-less barley for ten 
years, recommends Guy Mayle, Black Hull-less and Purple.' 
The Arizona Station recommends beardless varieties for hay, 

1 Wis. Rpt. T903, p. 265. 

2 Ont. Agr. Col. and Expt. Farms Rpt. 1903, p. 133. 



328 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

because the bearded varieties are irritating to the mouths of 
horses and often injuriovis.^ 

451. Breeding Barley. — Saunders crossed a six-rowed variety 
known as Baxter upon a Swedish two-rowed variety Royal, a 
six-rowed variety, and Beaver, a two-rowed variety, have been 
obtained, each of which has stiff straw, is a vigorous grower and 
productive.^ Johannsen, by systematic selection of heads with 
heavy grains and low nitrogen content for three generations, 
has obtained a progeny of the fourth generation with somewhat 
higher average weight of grains and appreciably lower nitro- 
gen content.^ Remy has selected strains of drouth resisting 
barley, such plants being shorter in the straw and shorter 
and closer in the head than those requiring a greater quantity 
of water,* 

III. CLIMATE AND SOIL 

452. Climate. — Barley is successfully cultivated in a wider 
range of climate than any other cereal. It is cultivated from 
65° N. Lat. in Alaska to semi-tropical California. (391) It is 
said to mature in the Andes at an elevation of 11,000 feet. 
While growing freely in Chile at 5,000 feet, it rarely ripens on 
the plateaus of Peru, which have an elevation of 9,000 feet.^ 
Grain is produced in Colorado at 7,000 feet and heavy crops of 
hay at 8,500 feet. In California, where, for climatic reasons, 
neither oats nor maize is grown extensively, barley is an im- 
portant crop, both for grain and hay 

Brewer has shown that in 1880 the greatest production of 
barley in the United States was with a smaller annual rainfall 

1 Ariz. Rpt. 1899, p. 249. 

2 Soc. Prom. Agr. Sci. 1899, p. 80. 

3 Medd. Carlsberg Lab. 1899, No. 4, pp. 228-313. E. S. R. XII, p. 326. 

4 Deut. Landw. Presse, 29 (1902), Nos. 87, p. 706, Fig. i; 88, pp. 715, 716. 
E. S. R. XIV, p. 650. 

5 Int. Encycl., Vol. II, p. 4S7. 



SOIL F(~)R BARLEY 329 

and a smaller amount during the growing season than any other 
cereal. Although an important crop in Norway and Sweden, it 
was formerly the bread plant of the people bordering on the 
Mediterranean Sea. It is said to grow in the extreme North, 
where the soil melts only a few inches deep. It seems, how- 
ever, to be best adapted to a warm, dry climate, although an 
abundance of rain does not prevent its successful culture. It 
requires less water in the Western States for irrigation than 
wheat or oats, and can be successfully grown more seasons in 
the semiarid region without irrigation than oats or spring 
wheat. 

The average maturing period is less than for oats or spring 
wheat. At the Wisconsin Station during five years it has 
varied w^ith different varieties from seventy-eight to eighty-eight 
days, the average being eighty-four days ; at North Dakota 
Station the season has varied from eighty-two to ninety-four 
days. (386) 

453. Soil. — Whether the peculiar distribution of barley in 
the United States is in any way dependent upon soil has not 
been ascertained. The development and distribution of the 
culture of a crop are due to so many causes, natural and 
economic, as to make it difficult to trace soil influences. The 
indications are, however, that the nature of the soil makes more 
difference with barley than with other cereal crops. English 
experience would indicate that rather sandy and well drained 
soils are better than clay soils or soils not well drained. Barley 
needs a fertile soil, and does not appear to stand growing con- 
tinuously on the same land as well as other cereals. The rate 
of decline of barley at Rothamsted during forty years of con- 
tinuous culture without fertilizers was considerably greater than 
in the case of wheat. 

454. Rotation. — Perhaps no cereal crop requires more care 
bestowed upon the rotation than does barley. Where barley 
replaces the wheat crop, the rotation may be maize, barley and 



330 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

oats, each one year ; or timothy and clover one or more years. 
The land has thus had surface tillage the previous year and 
may have been manured. In some regions barley replaces 
oats, when the rotation becomes maize, barley and wheat, each 
one year, followed with clover or clover and timothy one or two 
years. It is a matter of observation that the yield of winter 
wheat following barley is better than that following oats, 
especially in regions where water is readily exhausted from the 
soil. This is doubtless due to the greater water requirement 
of oats as compared with barley, which makes it more difficult 
to prepare a suitable seed bed, and causes the wheat subse- 
quently sown to germinate and grow more slowly. 

It is thought that the extensive experiments of Lawes and 
Gilbert indicate that the quality of barley is injured by follow- 
ing root crops, and is best in England when following wheat. 
All the various cultural conditions combined, however, have 
less influence on both quantity and quality of produce than has 
the weather.^ 

455. Manuring. — As the straw is comparatively short, barley 
will stand liberal manuring without lodging. Where lodging 
occurs, the filling of the grains is less interrupted than in the 
case of oats. Stable manure or commercial fertilizers may be 
applied directly to land intended for barley in quantities sug- 
gested for wheat. (122, 123, 124) Generally, however, it is 
better farm practice to apply the manure to the previous maize 
crop, and, if further fertilizing is required, apply commercial 
fertilizers for the barley. That barley responds as well as other 
cereal crops to the use of various forms of fertilizers is shown 
by the following table, giving the average yields of barley, wheat 
and oats during sixteen years on the same land at the Central 
Experimental Farms, fertilizers having been applied continu- 
ously during the first eleven years : ^ 

1 Jour. Roy. Agr. Sec. England, 3 Ser. 11 (1900), pt. 2, pp. 185-251, pis. 11. 

2 Can. Expt. Farms Rpt. 1903, p. 24 et seq. 



YIELD OF BARLEY 



33 i 



Yield of Grain per Acre in Bushels — Average Sixteen Years. 



Unnianured . . . . . 

Barnyard manure ... 

Nitrogen 

Phosphorus 1 .... 

Potassium 

Nitrogen and phosphorus . 
Phosphorus and potassium 
Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium 
Salt ...... 

Gjpsum 



Barley 


Spring 
wheat 


14 


II 


35 


23 


21 


14 


18 


13 


23 


16 


25 


13 


^2, 


14 


27 


14 


27 


14 


20 


13 



Oats 



29 

53 
46 

36 

39 
48 
42 
44 
38 
35 



Salt and gypsum both appear to have increased the yield of 
barley, but to have had less influence on the oats and wheat. 
Barley appears more dependent on the manurial supplies within 
the surface soil, probably on account of its shorter period of 
growth and more limited range of roots. For the same reason, 
soluble fertilizers, where needed, appear the most effective. 



1 Phosphorus applied in untreated phosphates. 



XXII. 

BARLEY. 

1. CULTURAL METHODS. 

456. Preparation of Seed Bed. — A well prepared seed bed is 
desirable if not essential for barley. To this end the land should 
be plowed and the seed bed deeply and thoroughly pulverized. 
Fall plowing is preferable in order to secure early preparation 
of seed bed and early seeding. The same principles applyto 
depth of seeding as in wheat, oats and maize. The Minnesota 
Station obtained higher yields from sowing three-fourths inch 
deep than from deeper seeding, and one and one-half inches 
than either deeper or shallower seeding in another instance.^ 
At the Manitoba Station better results were obtained at two 
inches than at shallower or deeper seeding.^ Much barley is 
sown broadcast, although the Ontario Agricultural College has 
found best results from drilling.^ For malting purposes it is 
desirable that every plant be grown and matured under as uni- 
form conditions as possible. Doubtless drilling will promote 
this end. In some instances increased yields of grain have 
been obtained by mixing barley with other grains, such as oats. 
(404) In no case should two and six-rowed varieties of barley 
be mixed if their crop is to be used for malting, because of dif- 
ferent lengths of time required for germination. Barley may be 
mixed with field peas in place of oats for sowing after July first, 
because the former is better adapted to growing during the 
warm weather. Early seeding of barley with field peas is less 

1 Minn. Buls. 31 and 40. 

2 Can. Expt. Farms Rpt. 1900. 

3 Ont. Agr. CoL and Expt. Farms Rpt. 1898. 



1 
^ 



1 



CULTURE OF I'.ARI.KV 333 

desirable than oats with field peas on account of the weakness 
of the straw. 

457. Rate of Seeding. — Wide variations in rate of seeding, 
ranging from one and one-half to four bushels of seed per acre, 
have given the best results in different trials. Two bushels is 
the usual quantity of seed sown per acre. It seems probable, 
however, that seeding at the rate of ten pecks per acre will give 
the best average results. The number of seeds per bushel is 
usually rather less than in wheat and oats. Barley tillers less 
strongly than oats, and also less strongly at least than tvinter 
wheat. Seeding thinly enough to induce excessive tillering may 
cause irregular and later ripening. 

458. Time of Sowing. — The Central Experimental Farm, at 
which the conditions correspond to those of Ontario and Quebec, 
sowed two varieties of barley at six weekly periods for ten years, 
beginning each year as early as the land was fit to receive the 
seed. Seeding either the first or second week gave the best re- 
sults. The decrease in yield after the second week was marked. 
In these provinces seeding usually should be finished before May 
first. The Ontario Agricultural College obtained best results 
every year during four years between April 22 and 25. Early 
sowing was not found so important for the Maritime Provinces, 
Manitoba, the Northwest Territories or British Columbia. The 
seeding should be finished in these provinces generally between 
May 15 and 25.^ 

The barley plant' when young is rather more susceptible to 
cold than wheat and possibly than oats. A light frost just after 
it is up is likely to injure it. In the spring wheat regions barley 
is generally sown after wheat is sown, and before oats are sown, 
although in some sections barley is sown after oats. It is prob- 
able that oats would suffer more than barley from a few days' 
delay in seeding. At the Minnesota Station the difference in 

1 Can. Cent. Expt. Farms Bui. 21 ; Can. Expt. Farms Rpt. 1899; Ont. Agr. Col. 
and Expt. Farms Rpt. 1898. 



334 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

favor of early seeding of barley was much less than with spring 
wheat, oats and flax.^ The Tennessee Station found September 
decidedly the best month for the fall seeding of barley." 

459. Seed Selection. — The Ontario Agricultural College has 
obtained an average for six years of fifty-four bushels from 
sowing large plump seed ; fifty bushels from small plump 
seed ; forty-six bushels from shrunken seed, and forty-three 
bushels per acre from sowing broken grains produced by 
the usual process of threshing.^ The Tennessee Station sowed 
large seed that were twenty-eight per cent heavier than small 
seed, and obtained fifty bushels from the larger seed and forty 
bushels per acre from the small seed. The weight of the 
individual grains was, however, practically identical in both 
cases. Large grains from large heads gave a larger yield of 
grain than from medium or small heads.* 

460. Harvesting. — Barley that has been allowed to ripen 
fully will be likely to have the most mealy endosperm, and most 
likely to sprout uniformly. On the other hand, if allowed to 
ripen fully, there is more danger of discoloration from rain and 
dews, and as this character is counted so important in fixing 
the commercial grade, early cutting is frequently practiced. 

If bundles are shocked promptly and shocks are carefully 
capped with two bundles, ripening may proceed, and both ends 
— full maturation and bright color — be measurably secured. 
(160) Formerly the barley crop was usually cut with a self-rake 
reaper and laid off in small gavels or in continuous swaths. 
These were allowed to dry a day or so, as required, and then 
raked together, or, more usually, placed in piles by hand with a 
large wooden, four-tined fork. The aim was to get the barley 

1 Minn. Bui. 40, p. 282. 

2 Tenn. Bui. Vol. XIV, No. 3, p. 6. 

3 Ont. Agr. Col. and E.xpt. Farms Rpt. 1903, p. 119. 

4 Tenn. Bui. Vol. XIV, No. 3. 



HARVESTING OF BARLEY 335 

dry as quickly as possible, so that it might be subject as little 
as possible to the rains and dews before reaching the stack. 
The severity of the beards and the shortness of the culms made 
it almost impossible to bind by hand. With the self-binder, it 
is the easiest of our cereal crops to bind. The shocking is now 
the most unpleasant operation. Barley of as good color is not 
obtained ordinarily when the sheaves are bound as when they 
are left open, chiefly because it is necessary to allow it to be 
long exposed to the w^eather before stacking or threshing. Con- 
siderable improvement in color may be effected by threshing 
the cap sheaves separately, and using the grain from them for 
food for domestic animals. 

461. Threshing. — Pieces of broken grains containing .no 
embrjos are \'alueless for the production of malt, since their 
contents do not become soluble. Moreover, 
they are harmful, since such grains become 
covered with motdd, serving as a center of 
infection to the sprouting grains, and thus 
injuring the malt. Grains that have the ends ^ 
of the hulls broken off too closely ; a portion 
of the hull peeled off ; or grains that are 
merely bruised, although germinating, are 
also liable to be attacked with mould. P-t-".°f^p"<e of barley, 

showing the influence 

Special care should be taken, therefore, in of threshing upon per- 
threshing barley, not to break or bruise the IT ^T'",'' *;'"'"'f 

<=> -' ' the cylinder to strike 

grains. It is better to leave a little of the the spike in the direc- 

1 J „ ii i • • iU ■ T'l • fion AB, beards on left 

beard on than to mjure the grams. This 

•' «' will be broken off prop- 

will reduce the weight per bushel, but malt- eriy, while those on 
sters are coming to recognize that high weicht *^^ "^^^ may ctirry a 

° ° & t> part of the husk or 

per bushel is less important than injured flowering g:ume with 
grains, and that no harm results from leaving '''"• ^''^'" ^"'^'*> 
on a little of the beard. Care should b^ taken to regulate the 
number and closeness of the concaves of the threshing machine 
and not to run the cylinder at too high a rate of speed. Since 




336 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



the beard is on the flowering glume, or that portion of the hull 
farthest from the center of the spike, any pressure from without 
will break the beard off without disturbing the hull, while 
pressure from within outward is liable to peel off a portion of 
the hull. Obviously the extent of such injury will depend upon 
the condition of the grain at the time of threshing. 

II. FUNGOUS DISEASES AND INSECT ENEMIES. 



Loose smut on barley; A, two- 
variety; B, six-rowed variety, 
third natural size. 



462. Fungous Diseases. — Barley is sub- 
ject to black stem rust and orange leaf rust, as 
in wheat. (146) The leaves are also attacked 
by the conidial stage {OiJiuin jnotulioides Lv.) of 
the powdery mildew (Erysiphe ^raminis D. C), 
whose greyish, mouldy tufts cause discoloration 
of the tissue. The loose or naked smut 
(Ustilago iinda {^&\s)Y^e\\. and .Sw.) not infre- 
quently reduces the spikelets to a sooty mass 
of spores. The covered smut ( U. hordei (Pers.) 
Kell. and Sw.) is less common. The modified 
hot water treatment may be used for both 
smuts. Soak the seed grain for four hours in 
cold water, let stand four hours in wet sacks, 
then immerse for five minutes in water at a 
temperature of 130'' F., which is three degrees 
lower than for wheat. (148) It has been shown 
that formalin solution will kill covered smut. 1 

463. Insect Enemies. — Barley is com- 
paratively free from insect attacks. However, 
barley probably suffers more from attacks of 
chinch bugs than any other cereal ; whether it 
is because the chinch bugs prefer the barley or 
the barley is less able to resist their attacks is 
less clear. (151) The Hessian fly also attacks 
barley, although ordinarily it is not so destruc- 
tive as in wheat (152) ; so also does the wheat 
bulb worm. (153) Barley is also attacked by a 
joint worm {Isosoma hordei Harris), which pro- 
duces galls at or near the nodes or joints of 
the culm. 



1 E. S. R. XII, p. 457. 



USE OF BARLEY 337 



III. USE. 



464. Use. — Barley is chiefly used as a food for domestic 
animals and for malting purposes. Barley meal is a siwtable 
food for all classes of domestic animals wherever maize would 
be found desirable, which it nearly equals in feeding value. In 
Europe it takes the place largely which maize does in America. 
In this country, its use as a stock food is not general as com- 
pared with maize or oats, except in the Pacific Coast States, where 
it is largely raised, not only for its grain but also for hay. Bar- 
ley is little used in this country as an article of human food, 
principally as pearl barley. Pearl barley is the naked kernel, 
the hull having been removed by special machinery. Barley 
straw is at least equal in feeding value to oat straw. When used 
as bedding, one part of wheat straw has been found to absorb 
2.2 parts of water, oat straw 2.28 parts, while one part of barley 
straw has been found to absorb 2.85 parts of water.^ 

465. Use for Malting. — While oats and wheat are sometimes 
used in the production of malt, barley is preferred because it 
develops less insoluble proteids, has greater peptonizing and 
diastatic power. It is also preferred to wheat on account of its 
hull. (440) Maize is not desirable on account of its high per 
cent of fat. While neither maize nor rice is used for malting, 
both are largely used in the manufacture of beer as raw cereals, 
the rice having its hull removed and the maize being degermi- 
nated. Both are used with malt. 

466. By-Products. — There are two by-products in the pro- 
duction of malt extract: (i) malt sprouts and (3) brewers' grains. 
Both are placed upon the market in the wet and dry state. For 
sanitary reasons, they are best purchased in the latter state. 
Malt sprouts, as the name implies, are the sprouts or young 
barley plants which have been sprouted for the purpose of 
changing the starch of the barley into a soluble form where it 

» E. S. R. V, p. 144. 



338 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



can be extracted with water. These young plants, like all young 
plants, are rich in protein and as usually sold form a cheap and 
satisfactory source of protein for milch cows. The brewers' 
grains consist of that portion of the barley which is left after the 
removal of the sprouts and extraction of the carbohydrates made 
soluble through sprouting. They also form an acceptable food 
for milch cows, although they are less nitrogenous than malt 
sprouts. They may also be fed to fattening cattle and to horses. 
Neither is desirable for swine on account of the crude fiber con- 
tained. The composition of the dried forms is as follows : ^ 

Brewers' 





Malt sprouts 


grains 


Water 


II. 


8.0 


Ash . 


5.8 


3-8 


Protein (N x 6.25) 


27.1 


23.1 


Crude fiber 


II.9 


10.8 


Nitrogen-free extract . 


42.6 


49.4 


Fat .... 


1.6 


4.9 



From one-fourth to two-thirds of the protein of the malt 
sprouts may be in the form of amides. The nitrogen-free ex- 
tract of the brewers' grains consists largely of pentosans and not 
true starch. Barley feed, a by-product in the. manufacture of 
pearl barley, is produced in small quantities. It makes a rather 
low grade feed. Barley screenings, when ground, form an 
acceptable carbonaceous food. 



IV. PRODUCTION AND MARKETING. 

467. Barley Crop of the World. — The world's production of 
barley varied during the five years 1898 to 1902 from 921 
million (1900) to 1,177 "^iHiori (1902), with an average annual 
production of 1,013 niillion bushels. The following table 
shows the average annual production of barley for five years by 
continents in million bushels : 

I Mass. (Hatch) Bui. 94. 



PROnUCTION OF P.ARLEY 


3 




I 898- I 902 


Europe 


788 


North America 


124 


Asia 


50 


Africa ....... 


48 


Australasia 


3 


Grand total ..... 


. 1,013 



339 



Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary, in order named, are 
the principal barley producing countries, contributing two- 
thirds the combined production of Europe and Asia. 

468. Barley Crop of the United States. — In extent of produc- 
tion, barley ranks fourth among the cereals in the United 
States. The crop is, however, of much less importance than 
wheat, maize or oats. The acreage of wheat is more than one- 
half, that of oats less than one-third, and that of barley about 
one-twenty-fifth the acreage of maize. Relatively, the acreage 
of barley is increasing. In common with the other cereals, 
barley has decreased in value per bushel ; the average price 
during the ninety decade was forty-three cents, a decrease of 
sixteen cents from the previous decade. The value per acre in 
1899 of the four crops named above was: wheat, $6.90; oats, 
^7.24; maize, $8.71; barley, $9.34. 

469. Barley Crop of Canada. — The following table shows the 
average annual production of five cereals in the United States 
and Canada for five years, 1 898-1 902 inclusive, in million 
bushels : ^ 



Canada 


United States 


Ratio I 


Barley . . . . 27 


87 


3-5 


Wheat .... 74 


633 


8-5 


Oats .... 132 


812 


6.1 


Maize . . . . 25 


2,031 


81.2 


Rye .... 4 


28 


7.0 


1 U. S. Dept. of Agr. Yearbook 1902, 1905. 







340 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

470. Center of Barley Production. — In 1850 the North Atlantic 
division produced eighty-one per cent of the barley crop of the 
country ; in igoo the North Central division produced sixty-eight 
per cent, and the Western division twenty-eight per cent. The 
center of production has moved westward from about the center 
of New York in 1850 to near the junction of Iowa and South 
Dakota in 1900. In 1850 New York reported 69.4 per cent of 
the entire barley crop ; in 1900, while reporting nearly the same 
number of bushels as in 1850, her contribution was only 2.5 
per cent of the entire crop. The growth of barley is so concen- 
trated in this country that nine States furnish ninety-one per cent 
of the total production. To produce an equal percentage of the 
maize crop, nineteen States would be required. The nine States 
referred to are California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, South 
Dakota, North Dakota, Washington, New York and Nebraska ; 
the first four of which produce three-fourths of the total crop. 

471. Yield per Acre. — The average annual yield per acre of 
barley during the decade 1893-1902 was nearly twenty-four 
(23.7) bushels, an increase of more than one bushel over the 
previous decade. The yield per acre is quite uniform in all 
except the Southern States, which yielded about four bushels 
below the average. Thirty- five to forty bushels is considered a 
good yield per acre, and where the soil and weather conditions 
are very favorable, a higher yield may be obtained. 

472. Exports and Imports. — During the past decade the 
annual export of barley has been about eleven per cent of the 
production, San Francisco being the chief exporting center. 
The United Kingdom, Australasia and Portuguese Africa receive 
the largest quantities of the exported grain. The import has 
been comparatively small, coming chiefly from Canada. 

473. Commercial Grades. — The Illinois Board of Railroad 
and Warehouse Commissioners recognizes the following classes 
and grades : 



HISTORY OF BARLEY 



341 



I 



Barley Nos. i, 2, 3, 4 and 5. 
Scotch barley Nos. i, 2 and 3. 
Bay Brewing barley Nos. i, 2 and 3. 
Chevalier barley Nos. i, 2 and 3. 

The rules for grading l)arley are as follows : 

" No. r Barley. — Shall be sound, plump, bright, clean and free from other grain. 

" No. 2 Barley. — Shall be of healthy color, not sound enough and plump enough 
for No. I, reasonably clean and reasonably free from other grain. 

" No. 3 Barley. — Shall include all barley slightly shrunken and otherwise slightly 
damaged barley, not good enough for No. 2. 

" No. 4 Barley. — Shall include all barley fit for malting purposes, not good enough 
for No. .3. 

" No. 5 Barley. — Shall include all barley which is badly damaged, or from any 
cause unfit for malting purposes, except that barley which has been chemically 
treated shall not be graded at all." 

Grades for Scotch, Bay Brewijjg and Chevalier barley are the 
same as for barley, except they must be of the variety named, 
and in the case of the last two shall be grown in the Western 
States. More No. 3 barley is dealt in on the Chicago market 
than any other class or grade. The most important item in 
fixing the grade is the color, which should be as light as possible. 
Rains or dews readily discolor the hull after the grain is ripe 
and greatly lower the grade. No. 2 barley must weigh forty- 
eight pounds to the bushel, while No. 3 barley may weigh a 
"few" pounds less. 

V. HISTORY. 

474. History. — The culture of barley is very ancient. Both 
it and wheat were cultivated before we have any history of man. 
In ancient Eg)'pt it was used as food for man and beast, and 
also made into beer. It was the chief bread plant of all those 
nations from which we derive our civilization. Barley continued 
to be the chief bread plant of continental Europe down to the 
sixteenth century. The introduction and wide cultivation of 
potatoes and the rapid development of the growth of wheat have 
brought about a decline in the use of barley. Barley was used 



342 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



to some extent by both man and beast in the early colonies of 
this country. 

Practicums. 



475. The Plant. — Each student should be given a printed or typewritten 
sheet, as indicated below, and requested to describe two or more types or varieties, 
as indicated. The study may be made in the field, or from fresh or dried speci- 
mens in the laboratory. 



Height of culm : average of ten culms to tip of upper beard . . . 

Vigor of plant: strong; medium; weak. 

Diameter below spike : average of ten culms . . . 

Wall of culm : thick ; medium ; thin. 

Color of culm : light yellow ; yellow ; bronze. 

Foliage : scanty ; medium ; abundant. 

Rust : leaves, per cent . . . ; culms, psr cent . . . 

Smut: per cent . . . 

Spike : erect ; leaning ; nodding. 

Spike : two-rowed ; four-rowed ; six-rowed. 
Length : average of ten spikes from lower joint 
of rachis to tip of flowering glume (not count- 
ing beard) of upper spikelet . . . 
Number of joints of the rachis: average 

ten . . . 
Number of spikelets at joint of rachis . . . 
Number of grains per spike: average ten 

spikes . . . 
Weight of middle and lateral grains (if six- 
rowed) : average ten grains : middle . . . ; 
lateral . . . 




Grobecker's grain tester. Move 
handle of knife, b, to the right, 
thus opening the receiver, c-a; 
put the barley to be tested 
into cup, a, when, by slightly 



14. 



15- 



476. The Grain. — Furnish each student with 
shaking the instrument, the one quart of the grain of two or more varieties of 
grains will fill the fifty holes, barley, preferably a two-rowed, six-rowed and hull- 
Now press the knife, b, back j^^g variety. 



to its original position, thereby 
cutting each grain crosswise 
through the middle. Then 
move handles, a and b, aside, 
thereby laying open part c, 
when the number of mealy, 
half mealy and glassy grains 
may be counted. 



light yellow ; yellow ; dark 



Color of grains : 

yellow. 
Impurities : remove perfect and broken grains 

from ten grams ; weight of perfect grains 

. . . ; weight of broken grains . . . 
Volume weight : weight per bushel obtained by 

weighing one pint . . . 

4. Specific gravity : use picnometer (203) . . . 

5. Weight : one hundred grains . . . 

6. Hull: thick; medium; thin; per cent in twenty-five grains . . . 



barley: practicums 



343 



per cent ; half mealy 
per cent ; half opaque 



per 
per 




7. Character of endosperm: mealy . 

cent ; glassy . . . per cent. 

8. Character of endosperm: opaque . 

cent; translucent . . . percent. 

9. Phimpness: plump; medium; shrunken. 

10. Length of grain : ten grains . . . 

11. Widtli of grain : ten grains . . . 

12. Thickness of grain : ten grains . . . 

13. fJermination : place 100 grains between c^-p 

wqU moistened filter paper or flannel 
cloth, and keep at temperature of 
80" F. Remove sprouted grains at 
end of each twenty-four hours for 
five days ; first day . . . ; second 
. . .; third . . .; fourth . • .; 
fifth . . . 

477. Soil Fertility in Relation to 
Barley. — Barley is well adapted for pot cul- 
ture. (432) Where practicable, require each 
student to apply the following fertilizing 
ingredients in the rates per acre indicated 
below. Require the student to calculate the 
amount of fertilizers required psr plat from 
such commercial goods as may be available in 
his market. Also require the student to show 
the method of calculating yields from check 
plats. See Ohio Bui. 13S, p. 40. Make each 
plat four to eight rods long and the width of 
one round of tlie wheat drill. Leave three 
feet between each plat, and keep this space 
cultivated so as to prevent growth of weeds. Outer drill row may be cut by hand* 
and discarded in order to get yields similar to those obtained in ordinary prac- 
tice. Where practicable, each student should be required to carry this trial 
through from start to finish, calculating fertilizers required, mixing materials 
from raw goods, applying fertilizers, sowing barley (wheat or oats may be sub- 
stituted), harvesting crops and calculating yields. Reasons for each of the steps 
taken should be emphasized. 

Place upon the plats commercial fertilizers in quantities equivalent to pounds of 
elements indicated : 

1. None. 

2. Phosphorus, 25. 

3. Potassium, 25. 

4. None. 

5. Nitrogen, 25. 

6. Phosphorus, 25 ; nitrogen, 25. 



Seed germinating apparatus used by the 
United States Departnnent of Agricul- 
ture, a, inlet pipe ; b, outlet pipe ; c, 
thernno-regulator ; </, "guide light" 
gas delivery tube ; e, "guide light"; 
y, opening into water cavity ; ^.maxi- 
mum and mininnunn thernnometer ; k, 
thermometer; {, germinating pan ; kk, 
outlets for carbon dioxide. (Yearbook 
1894, p. 402.) 



344 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

7. None. 

8. Phosphorus, 25 ; potassium, 25. 

9. Potassium, 25 ; nitrogen, 25. 

10. None. 

11. Phosphorus, 25 ; nitrogen, 25 ; potassium, 21;. 

12. Phosphorus, 50; nitrogen, 25 ; potassium, 25. 

13. None. 

14. Phosphorus, 25; nitrogen, 12.5; potassium, 25. 

15. Stable manure, 10 loads. 

16. None. 

17. Stable manure, 10 loads; lime, 1,000 lb. 

18. Stable manure. 20 loads, 

19. None. 

478. Collateral Reading. 
Cultivated Barleys. By John Percival. Agricultural Botany, pp. 481-492. T>ondon: 

Duckworth & Co. (1900). 
Results of Experiments at Rothamsted on the Growth of Barley for more than 

thirty years on the same land. By J. H. Gilbert, Rothamsted Memoirs, 

Vol. VI, pp. 1-29. London: Dunn & Chidgey (1S90). 
Barley. By Wahl-Henius. American Handy Book of the Brewing, Malting and 

Auxiliary Trades, pp. 449-463. Chicago: Wahl and Henius (1902). 



XXIII. 

RYE. 

479. Relationships. — The commonly cultivated species of rye 
{Secaie cereale L.) has its outer glumes shorter than the flowering 
glume ; while in another species (^S. fragile Biberst) to be found 
in Hungary and southern Russia, there is a long awn on the 
outer glume extending beyond the flowering glume. Both species 
are annual. According to Hackel, the original species (.S. mon- 
tanuni Guss) extends from Spain and Morocco to central Asia. 
It is perennial and the rachis breaks apart upon ripening, both 
of which characters are lost under cultivation. It is said that 
rye stubble allowed to stand a long time in the field will sprout 
again ; while this never happens with wheat and barley because 
the original forms are annual. Rye is more closely related to 
wheat than to any other cereal, although differing from it in 
several particulars. 

480. The Plant. — When a grain of rye germinates it throws 
out a whorl of four instead of three temporary roots ; a fact 
which may in some way account for its greater hardiness. Its 
culms are longer, more slender, and tougher than those of wheat. 
The rye spikelet is only two-flowered and both flowers develop 
about equally, making the spike rather uniformly four-rowed. 
The outer glumes are awl-shaped instead of boat-shaped, as 
in the case of wheat. The flowering glume is always awned 
and the keel of the bloom is strongly barbed. A rye spike is 
rather longer than a wheat spike, being usually four to six inches 
long, not counting the beards. The joints of the rachis are 
rather farther apart, there being twenty to thirty in a single 
spike. Unlike wheat, the lower spikelets are fertile and produce 



346 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



normally sized grains. The organs of reproduction are very- 
similar to those of wheat, except that the anthers in the case of 

rye are very much larger. 
A rye grain is rather longer, 
more slender, more pointed 
at the embryo end and 
more blunt at the upper 
end. One hundred aver- 
age grains weigh about 2.5 
grams, usually varying be- 
tween 2.25 and 3.75 grams. 
In some cases the size of 
seed may vary so that one 
and one-half to three and 
a quarter bushels might 
furnish the same number 
of seed per acre. The fur- 
row or crease is less marked 
and the surface is more 
wrinkled. This may be due 
to the more porous cells of 
the pericarp. Its general 

Rye at blooming: front view of spike on right; reSCmblanCe tO an Oat kcr- 
side view of portion of spil<e in middle; on the i u J 4- U 

left, a single spikelet containing two flowers ^^^ ^^^ CaUSCd Vye tO DC 

about to bloom; shows outer glume, flower- used in adulterating oats 

ing glume, large anther and palea. 1 i r • 1 

when the former is cheaper 
than the latter per pound. In general the structure of the rye 
grain is similar to that of the wheat grain, although the starch 
cells and cells of the aleurone layer appear rather larger in the 
case of r}7e. 

481. Composition. — Analyses of American rye indicate that 
the percentage of protein (10.6) and fat (1.7) is somewhat less 
than that of wheat. The proteim contains gluten, and rye flour 
is therefore adapted for the production of porous bread. The 




SOIL FOR RYE 347 

grain of rye is less variable in composition than wheat, barley 
or maize. Analyses of American rye flour show the percentage 
of protein to be very much less than that of wheat flour, being, 
on an average of four analyses, 6.7 per cent in the case of rye 
flour, and 10.8 per cent as an average of twenty analyses of 
wheat flour. The difference in the composition of rye and 
wheat straw is very slight. It is probable, however, that there 
is considerable difference in the nitrogen-free extract, since r}'e 
straw is much tougher, and recognized to be of little value for 
feeding purposes. 

482. Varieties. — There are very few varieties of rye, prob- 
ably because rye cross-fertilizes freely. There are both spring 
and winter varieties, the latter being usually sown. In Amer- 
ica, at least, practically no attempt has been made to improve 
rye either by selection or crossing. 

483. Climate. — Rye is a hardy plant and stands severe 
winters better than wheat. It has been matured in Alaska as 
a winter grain.^ It does not seem, however, especially influ- 
enced by hot weather. It is, nevertheless, naturally a plant of 
cold climate just as barley is one of warm climate. 

484. Soil. — Rye is adapted to light, sandy soil. It has been 
called the grain of poverty, because it will produce a fair crop 
on land too poor, or climate unadapted for other cereals.^ It 
will thrive on much poorer soils than wheat, maize or barley. 
This is so well recognized that the expression, " It is too poor 
to grow r}-e," is used to indicate the extreme poverty of the 
soil. Brewer states that the feeling that poor soil and the 
growth of rye are connected prevents many farmers from raising 
it for purely sentimental reasons. While fertilization of r}^e, 
therefore, is not systematically practiced, the same principles 
apply to rye as to wheat. (122, 123, 124) 

1 Office of Expt. Sta. Rpt. 1903. 

2 Sargent: Corn Plants, p. 83. 



348 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

485. Rotation. — Ordinarily rye occupies the place in the 
rotation assigned to wheat. It is an excellent crop with which 
to seed down land to grass and clover, and in sections on the 
northern border of the winter wheat district, lye, on account of 
its greater hardiness, is sown in place of wheat for this purpose. 
The Rhode Island Station has obtained satisfactory results with 
a si::^course rotation as follows : first year, winter rye ; second 
year, timothy, redtop and medium red clover ; third year, grass ; 
fourth year, grass ; fifth year, maize ; and sixth year, potatoes. 
No stable manure was used, but liberal quantities of commercial 
fertilizers were applied to all crops. In undertaking to build 
up "worn-out" land with this rotation, it is considered desir- 
able to begin with rye.^ It has been reported that in Europe 
rye frequently gives unsatisfactory results when grown after 
potatoes.^ 

486. Rye as Green Manure. — On account of its hardiness 
and its ability to grow upon poor soil, rye makes a good crop 
to grow for plowing under to increase the organic matter in the 
soil. Rye may be sown in the standing maize in September 
(128), or, after maize is shocked, may be disked in without 
plowing. In the spring, rye may be plowed under and land 
planted again to maize or sown to some other crop. Care 
should be taken, however, to plow the rye under early in the 
spring before it has made too much growth, lest it exhaust the 
moisture from the soil and thereby reduce the subsequent crop. 
It has been shown that by allowing the rye to head out and 
removing the crop, the subsequent maize crop may be seriously 
injured.* In sowing rye in standing maize, no advantage is 
gained by sowing before September, since the maize plant so 
shades the ground as to retard the growth of the earlier sown 
rye. Sowing rye between two potato crops did not reduce the 

1 R. I. Bui. 99. 

2 Fuhling's Landw. Ztg. 47 (1S9S), No. 18, pp. 702-706; E. S. R. X, 740. 
8 Ohio Agr. Rpt. 1895, p. 311. 



ENEMIES OF RYE 349 

scab, and decreased the yield of potatoes.^ As a cover crop 
for orchards, either alone or with hairy vetch ( J^icta villosa 
Roth), rye has given satisfactory results. 

487. Cultural Methods. — The same principles apply to the 
preparation of the seed bed and the methods of seeding as in 
the case of winter wheat. Ordinarily where both wheat and rye 
are sown, the rye is sown first. No experiments have been 
reported with regard to the best quantity of seed per acre 
applicable to American conditions. In an experiment in Den- 
mark, seeding in varying rates from two to three and one-fourth 
bushels per acre, the largest yield of both grain and straw was 
obtained by sowing at the rate of two and one-half bushels, or 
2,280 million grains, per acre during an average of three years. 
The percentage of grain per straw and the size of grains were 
larger at the thinner seeding. From one and one-half to two 
bushels of r}^e per acre is usually sown in this country. Where 
grown for soiling the seeding may be heavier. In a ten years' 
trial with different sized seed only a slight increase in grain and 
straw was obtained from the larger seed; the increase being 
rather greater in the straw than in the grain.^ 

Rye is not infrequently pastured in the fall with either cattle 
or sheep, and sometimes again in the spring, after which the 
stock is removed and the rye allowed to ripen. While this 
reduces the yield, rye will stand this treatment better than any 
other cereal crop. In case rye makes too large a growth in the 
fall and is in danger of throwing up culms, or becoming jointed, 
as it is called, pasturing, especially with sheep, may even prove 
beneficial. This is a condition, however, which seldom arises. 

488. Enemies of Rye. — Rye may become infested with the same weeds that 
infest winter wheat. Chess, however, is less commonlj- found in rye, probably on 
account of the greater hardiness of the latter. (139) It has no specific insect pest, 
but may be attacked by those insects which feed upon all cereal crops indiscrimi- 
nately, such as the chinch bug, army worm and grasshopper. The stored grain is 

1 N. Y. (Geneva) Bui 138, p. 629. 

2 Tidsskr. Landbr. Planteavl, I pp. 1-30; E. S. R. VII, 203. 



350 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 




also attacked freely by those insects which attack wheat and maize. (156) Rye 
is perhaps as freely injured by black stem rust and orange leaf rust as wheat, oats 
and barley. (146) It is also rarely attacked by a smut 
(Urocystis occulta (Wallr.) Rabh.). Treatment of seed with 
hot water at 127° F. is recommended. The greatest enemy 
of rye, however, is ergot, sometimes known as spurred or 
horned rye {Claviceps purpurea Tul.). Ergot is readily 
recognized by the very much enlarged and changed appear- 
ance of the grain caused by the growth of the fruiting 
spores. It is from these diseased grains that the ascospore 
stage develops the next year. Rye containing ergot should 
not be sown and land which has produced the diseased rye 
should not be sovm to rye again for two or three years. It 
is desirable, in case the crop has been diseased, to put the 
land in some cultivated crop the succeeding year in order 
to prevent the growth of volunteer rye, which is very likely 
to be diseased and thus continue the trouble. Rye contain- 
ing ergot should not be fed to domestic animals nor eaten 
by persons because of the serious effect which may follow 
from such use. 

489. Harvesting. — Rye usually ripens 
Ergot on spike of rye. about a wcck ill advancc of winter wheat. 
(After ciintori.) q^^ accouiit of the greater length of culm, 
heavy crops of rye are likely to tax the capacity of self-binding 
har\'esters. Rye may be shocked as indicated for wheat. (i6i) 
But ordinarily it is not necessary to cap rye because the spikes 
lie so close to- 
gether as to form 
a sufficient pro- 
tection without 
capping. On ac- 
count of the much 
higher price which 
can be obtained 
for straight rye 
straw as compared with tangled straw, threshing machines have 
been devised for keeping the straw straight during the opera- 
tion, and some of the machines have a self-binding attachment 
by which the stray straws is bound again into bundles. Machines 




Rye thresher with attachment for binding straight straw 
after it is threshed. 



USE OF RYE 351 

are made suitable for the use of individual farmers as well as 
the large machines intended for itinerant threshing. 

490. Use. — The grain of rye is used for the production of 
flour, for food for domestic animals, and for the production of 
alcohol and alcoholic beverages. Rye flour is prepared in 
two forms : (i) fine rye flour, which has been thoroughly bolted 
according to modern processes of milling (176, 177), and (2) 
coarse rye flour, which corresponds to Graham flour in wheat. 
(174) Bread made from coarse rye flour has usually been 
esteemed more nutritious than that made from fine rye flour. 
Fine rye flour is less nutritious than bread from wheat flour. On 
the European continent where coarse rye bread is usually 
eaten it has been considered more nutritious than wheat bread. 
Digestion experiments, however, tend to show that fine white 
flour contains the greater net available energy. In America 
rye bread is in very small demand and mostly by those who 
have acquired a taste for it in European countries. 

Rye, preferably ground, forms a satisfactory food for all classes 
of domestic animals, and may be fed as a substitute for maize 
whenever the price is such as to justify. Rye straw is used in 
the manufacture of paper, for a great variety of packing, in- 
cluding fruit trees, and for bedding for domestic animals. Rye 
straw is so highly prized for these uses that rye is largely 
raised in this country for the production of straw rather than 
for the production of grain. Were it not for the demand 
for the straw, the production of rye would probably rapidly 
decrease. 

"The manufacture of straw is one of the most important industries of this Em- 
pire, giving tliousands means of support. I believe it could be prolitably intro- 
duced into Wisconsin, Minnesota, northern Michigan, the woods of Maine and 
hills of Vermont, New Hampshire and western Massachusetts. Straw, that once 
served only for fuel or fertilizing purposes, is puc up by these people into the most 
useful, beautiful and fantastic forms. Plates, dishes, baskets, boxes, tables, 
trunks, fans, hats, caps, mats, etc., are made by the million and sent to all parts of 
the world. In a stretch of country containing six square miles, there are 10,000 
j)ersons employed in making articles of straw. 



352 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

" Of the straws used, the best come from Tuscany. They are rye and wheat 
straws, and are known as the 'grano marzuolo,' or March grain. It is sown in 
March, very thick, to prevent the blades from growing too fast or strong. In June 
it has grown to a length of 1 8 or 20 inches and is ready for use. The rye and wheat 
is torn out by the roots, bound into small bundles, exposed to the sun but not to 
the rain, and is then laid aside for one or two years' seasoning. Before being 
worked, the bundles are spread out like fans, exposed three nights to the dew and 
three days to the sun ; they are then turned to expose the other side two nights to 
the dew and three days to the sun. In this way, the straw that was green be- 
comes a beautiful yellow or golden white. The ears and roots are now removed, 
and the stems are sorted into twelve to twenty sizes." i 

491. Rye as a Soiling Crop. — Rye is especially acceptable to 
milch cows, when fed as a soiling crop the flow of milk being 
well maintained, and no bad results accrue from its use. The 
period during which it is available is comparatively brief, how- 
ever, usually not more than two weeks in the latter part of 
April and fore part of May, varying somewhat with latitude and 
season. The period of maturity in which it makes a desirable 
soiling crop varies from just before heading until it is in full 
bloom. Prior to the earlier stage the yield is not sufficient to 
justify its use, and after the later stage it is not sufficiently 
palatable to be eaten readily. The Pennsylvania Station has 
shown that between the extremes noted, requiring twelve days, 
the yield of dry matter in the plant increased approximately 
from 1,200 to 2,800 pounds per acre.^ In a system of soiling 
the hiatus between rye and oats and field peas (405) may be 
filled in with wheat and later with common red clover. At the 
Alabama Station four cuttings of rye made in October, Novem- 
ber, January and February ga\ e a total of eleven tons of green 
rye per acre.' 

492. By-Products. — The by-products of rye are rye bran 
and distillers' grains. Rye bran has about the same feeding 
value as wheat bran. The distillers' grains are the by-products 

' J. C. Monaghan : Germany's Straw Industry. Consular Reports, Vol. LVIII 
(1898), No. 216, p. 53. 

2 Penn. Rpt. 1893, p. 52. 
8 Ala. Bui. 16. 



PRODUCTION OF RYR 353 

of the manufacture of alcohol and also contain varying propor- 
tions of rye and other cereal grains. (357) Usually the higher 
the proportion of rye used, the less the percentage of protein 
and fat and the lower the feeding value. 

403. Rye Crop of the World. — The world's production of 
rye varied during 189S-1902 from 1,449 million (1901) to 1,678 
million (1902), the average annual p.. luction being 1,560 
million bushels. The following table shows the average annual 
production of rye for five years by continents in million bushels : 

I 898- I 902 
Europe . . . . . . . 1,471 



Asia . 

North America 



58 
31 



,560 



Total 

Russia produced fifty-four per cent of the entire crop during 
this period ; Russia and Austria-Hungary sixty-two per cent. 
Excepting the maize crop of the United States, Russia pro- 
duces more rye than any other country of any one crop. 

494. Rye Crop of the United States. — The reported acreage 
of rye in 1899 showed a decrease of 5.4 per cent since 1889, 
accompanied by a ten per cent decrease in production. While 
barley appears to be relatively increasing in acreage, rye appears 
to be decreasing. In 1880 the acreage of barley was about one 
million in excess of that of rye; in 1900 the acreage of barley 
was more than double that of rye, the latter having made com- 
paratively slow progress since 1880. The average price per 
bushel during the ninety decade was fifty-two cents, a decrease 
of nine cents from the previous decade. The value per acre of 
rye in 1899 was ^5.95, the least of any of our cereals, grain 
alone being considered. While the annual exportation of rye, 
seven million bushels for 1 898-1 902 inclusive, is small compared 
with wheat or maize, it is about one-fourth the total production. 
There is practically no importation. 



354 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

495. Center of Production. — In 1850 the concentration of the 
rye crop in the North Atlantic division was greater than that of 
barley, eighty-three per cent of the entire crop coming from 
that region. The westward movement has not been so rapid 
as in the case of barley; the North Atlantic division fur- 
nished twenty-nine and the North Central division sixty- 
three per cent of the total production in 1900. The center of 
production in 1850 was somewhere west of the center of New 
York and Pennsylvania; in 1899 it had shifted westward into 
the State of Illinois. Fifty-three per cent of the crop of 1899 
was furnished by four States : Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New 
York and Michigan. 

496. Yield per Acre. — The average annual yield per acre of 
rye during the decade 1893-1902 was approximately fifteen 
bushels, an increase of about three bushels over the previous 
decade. There is little variation in yield in the North Central 
and North Atlantic States ; the South Atlantic States fall quite 
below the average. Twenty to twenty-five bushels per acre is 
considered a good yield. The legal weight per bushel is fifty- 
six pounds in Canada and all the States of the Union, except 
California, where it is fifty-four pounds. 

497. Commercial Grades. — Only one class of rye is recog- 
nized, the following being the rules for grading this class by the 
Illinois Board of Railroad and Warehouse Commissioners : 

"No. I rye. — Shall be sound, plump and well cleaned. 

" No. 2 rye. — Shall be sound, reasonably clean and reasonably free from other 
grain. 

" No. 3 rye. — Shall be reasonably sound, reasonably dry, free from must, and 
not good enough for No. 2. 

" No. 4 rye. — All rye, damp, musty, or for any other cause unfit for No. 3." 

498. History. — The cultivation of rye is not nearly so ancient 
as that of wheat and barley. It was unknown to the ancient 
Egyptians. The ancient Greeks did not know it. Its intro- 
duction into the Roman Empire was hardly earlier than the 



rye: practicums 355 

Christian era. The origin of its cultivation is supposed to be 
northeastern Europe. 

Within modern times rye was* formerly a more important 
crop. Even as late as the middle of the nineteenth century rye 
was said to have formed the principal sustenance of at least 
one-third the population of Europe, barley taking its place in 
countries nearer the Mediterranean. It was annually sown 
with wheat, and is yet to a large extent mixed with wheat in 
grinding, and the resulting flour is called mcslin. The mixture 
of maize and rye for bread was common in New England. 
Relatively, r}'e was formerly much more important in England 
and the United States. 

Practicums. 

499. Influence of Specific Gravity Upon Germination. — Make up 
three solutions of sodium nitrate with a specific gravity of 1.20, 1.26 and 1.32, using 
a hydrometer to determine the specific gravity. Solutions may be placed in oat- 
meal dishes. Take preferably a sample of rye of rather low grade and divide into 
small, medium and large sized grains, either by hand or by means of sieves. (433) 
Then divide each sample into four groups according to specific gravity, by placing 
the sample in the solution of highest spscific gravity ; then put that which floats in 
the solution of next highest specific gravity, and so on. Grains can be conveniently 
removed from the solution by using a piece of wire gauze. Place fifty seeds of each 
of the twelve groups thus obtained in germinator at 70° F. and determine the num- 
ber germinating in 24 hours . . . ; 48 hours . . . ; 72 hours , . . : 96 
hours . . . ; 120 hours . . . (475) Seeds may also be grown as in (433). 
Wheat and barley may also be treated in the same solutions, and many other agri- 
cultural seeds may be tested by varying the density of the solutions. A saturated 
solution of common salt and a saturated solution of ammonium nitrate made by 
boiling will upon cooling to 75° F. have a specific gravity of approximately 1.20 and 
1.30 respectively. For further details, see N. Y. (Geneva) Bui. 256. 

500. Study of Plant. — Examination under Nos. i to 8 preferably made in 
field : Nos. 9 to 16, in the laboratory. 

1. Height of culm: average of ten culms to tip of upper beard . . . 

2. Diameter below spike: average of ten culms . • . . 

3. Wall of culm (compared with wheat ) : thick ; medium ; thin. 

4. Foliage (compared with wheat ) : scanty; medium; abundant 

5. Rust: leaves, per cent . . .; culms, per cent . . . 

6. Ergot : per cent . . . 

7. Spike: erect; leaning; nodding. 



356 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

8. Length of spike : average of ten spikes from lower joint of rachis to tip of 

upper outer glume . . . 

9. Number of grains per spikelet . , . 

10. Number of grains per spike : average of ten spikes . • . 

11. Weiglit: one hundred grains . . . 

12. Size: length of ten grains . . .; width of ten grains . . .; thickness of 

ten grains . . . 

13. Plumpness: plump; medium; shrunken. 

14. Weight per bushel : obtained by weighing one pint. 

15. Draw outer glume of rye and wheat. 

16. Draw flowering glume of rye and wheat, using bearded glumes. 



XXIV. 

RICE. 

I. STRUCTURE AND VARIETIES. 

501. Relationships. — Rice {Oryza sativa L.) belongs to the 
tribe Oryzcae. In some respects it is rather more closely re- 
lated to maize and sorghum than to the other cereals. There 
are a number of species of the genus Oryza growing wild in 
the tropics of both hemispheres. To this tribe also belongs 
wild rice {Zisania aquatica L.), sometimes called Canada rice 
and sometmies referred to as "the reeds," the fruit furnishing 
food for the reed birds or bobolinks. The wild rice plant is an 
annual, grows usually from five to eight feet in length above 
water, and bears a cylindrical panicle one to two feet long. 
The flowering glume is bearded and encloses a slender cylin- 
drical kernel varying in length from a half to almost an inch, 
and is of dark slate color when ripe. It grows somewhat exten- 
sively in marshy places throughout North America, as well as 
northeastern Asia, particularly around the region of the Great 
Lakes, where the Indians collected it in large quantities for food 
and even sowed it rather extensively. Wild rice furnishes a 
nutritious and an acceptable food. Although prolific, the ten- 
dency to shatter its seed upon ripening will probably prevent 
its general cultivation.^ 

Another species of wild rice (Zizania miliacea Mx.) is 
common in the Southern States, especially in the bayous of 
Louisiana. No use is made of the seeds, but it is said that tv\'o 
crops of good hay may be cut from it annually. 

1 For further account of wild rice see The Wild Rice Gatherers of the Upper 
Lakes. By Albert Ernest Jenks ; extract from the 19th Ann. Rpt. of the Bureau 
of American Ethnology. 



358 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 




502. The Plant. — The culms of the rice plant vary in length 
from two to six feet, usually from four to five feet, depending 

upon soil, water and methods of cul- 
ture. The Louisiana Station has 
found the straw as ordinarily har- 
vested to vary from 1.6 to 2.3 pounds 
for each pound of rough rice.'- Like 
the other so-called small grains, rice 
tillers freely; one seed sending up 
many culms when conditions are 
favorable. The spikelets are one- 
flowered, arranged on short pedicels 
so as to make a compact panicle in 
appearance somewhat intermediate 
between oats and barley. The outer 
glumes consist of two small scales or 
bristles, underneath which are two 
more minute rudimentary ones. The 
flowering glume is frequently awned. 

The flower of rice differs from all other cereals, having six 

stamens instead of three. 

503. The Grain. — The fruit or caryopsis of rice is enveloped 
in the flowering glume and palea, which remain attached when 
threshed. When in this condition, rice is known as paddy. 
The flowering glume and palea are usually referred to as the 
husk or hulls, while the pericarp, testa and nucellus correspond- 
ing to the bran of wheat are referred to as the cuticle. The 
surface of the rice kernel is marked with four longitudinal 
depressions which give it a fluted appearance. The embryo is 
not embedded in the kernel but is so exposed that it is easily 
rubbed ofiE in the process of milling. The cells of the aleurone 
layer are relatively small in one to two rows. Evidently these 
cells are removed by the polishing process. (526) The endo- 

1 La. Bui. 61, 2nd. ser., p. 392. 



Stool of Honduras rice from a single 
seed. (After Bond.) 



COMPOSITION OF RICE 



359 



sperm is quite hard, and is glassy or translucent, with only here 
and there white or opaque spots. As in oats, the starch grains 
are compound. The rice grains usually vary from three-eighths 




Longitudinal and cross section of rice kernel : I , cuticle ; 2, aleurone layer ; 3, endosperm : 
4, embryo; unnumbered lines show longitudinal depression in kernel. (After Dodson.) 

to two-fifths of an inch in length. The weight of loo grains 
may vary from two to three grams, or from 15,000 to 17,000 
grains per pound. 

504. Composition. — The following table gives the average 
of ten American analyses of clean rice, and one analysis each 
of rough rice and rice straw : 



Water . 

Ash . . . 
Protein (N X6.25) 
Crude fiber . 
Nitrogen-free extract 
Fat . . . 



Clean 


Rough 


rice 


nee 


12.4 


1 1.0 


0.4 


54 


74 


74 


0.2 


9-3 


79.2 


64-3 


0.4 


2.6 



Rice 
straw 



9.0 

23.0 

4-7 

323 

32.1 

1.9 



Clean rice is characterized by high percentage of starch and 
a correspondingly low percentage of other substances, especially 
crude fiber. Over ninety per cent of the dry matter of rice is 
nitrogen-free extract, almost exclusively starch. As a source of 
easily digestible carbohydrates, rice is without a peer among 
the cereals, and has few equals among food products. 

505. Varieties. — There are five types of rice, among which 
we lowland rice and upland rice. These have sometimes been 



360 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

considered distinct species, but they are probably only cultivated 
forms. As might be expected from a plant so widely and an- 
ciently cultivated as rice, there are a large number of varieties. 
In America, however, the varieties have been comparatively few. 
In the South Atlantic States the varieties chiefly used have been 
white rice, valued for its early maturity, and two varieties of 
gold seed rice, so called on account of their golden yellow hulls, 
differing from each other in the size of the grain, both of which 
are highly esteemed both because of their quality and the large 
yield of grain. In the South Central States there are three 
types of rice recognized, based upon the original source of the 
seed, viz., Honduras, Japan and Carolina rice. The Honduras 
rice is the type that has usually been raised, although Japan 
rice is now raised in large quantities. The grains of the latter 
are smaller, being shorter but relatively thicker than Honduras 
rice, and have a thinner hull. Japan n'ce also tillers more, fifty 
to eighty seed-bearing culms being not uncommon.^ 

Red rice is distinguished by the color of the grains, which 
may vary from very light to dark red, and the color may occur 
only in the seed coat or throughout the endosperm. This 
variety, practically wild, is sometimes considered a distinct 
species, and at least a distinct strain, is a strong and hardier 
grower than white rice, and will ripen its seed under more 
diverse conditions. Whenever it gets a foothold, therefore, it 
rapidly supplants the white rice. Since red rice materially 
lowers the grade, it causes rice planters great loss and becomes 
the worst weed that they have to combat. 

II. • CLIMATE AND SOILS. 

506. Climate. — Rice is a tropical or semitropical plant, and 
attains its best development in a moist, insular climate. In 
America rice is not raised north of the southern boundary of 
Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri and Kansas ; and very little of it 

1 O. E. S. Bui. 131, p. 20. 



SOIL FOR RICE 361 

north of the southern boundary of Tennessee. Its climatic 
range is similar to that of cotton, being between 45° N. to 38° 
S. Lat. in the Eastern, and from 36° N. to 38° S. Lat. in the 
Western Hemisphere. Certain varieties of upland rice are said 
to be adapted to a somewhat wider climatic range. While 
upland rice may be raised by methods not dissimilar to that of 
oat culture, it is neither so productive nor of so good a quality 
as when raised by irrigation, the method most commonly 
practiced. 

07. Soil. — The principal considerations concerning soil for 
rice are the ability to irrigate it, to drain it promptly, and to 
become solid with sufficient rapidity after the water has been 
removed for the passage of animals and machinery. Different 
degrees of fertility, however, are recognized, and soils of a clay 
nature have been found better than those of a sandy or peaty 
character ; although here, as with other crops, a loamy soil with 
a fair degree of organic matter is desirable. The principal 
areas in the United States devoted to rice are : (i) the delta 
land and inland marshes of the South Atlantic States, (2) the 
alluvial lands along the Mississippi River, and (3) the prairie 
soil of southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas. The 
practices prevailing in the third area are radically different, both 
because the topography makes possible larger fields and because 
the solid subsoil allows the use of self-binding harvesters for 
gathering the crop. Upland rice may be grown upon any soil 
that will grow maize or cotton, and the method of culture is 
not materially different from that of oats or other spring sown 
grain. 

508. Rotation. — A rotation of crops is seldom practiced on 
the rice plantation, although it is recognized that a rotation 
would increase the yield of rice per acre ; but it would reduce 
the area grown. One very important reason for a rotation of 
crops is to free the land of noxious weeds; and planters are 
being forced to adopt a rotation for this purpose, which consists 



362 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



of interjecting some other crop about once in four years, prefer- 
ably a cultivated crop, such as maize, or merely permitting the 
plantation to grow up to dry land weeds. 

509. Fertilizers. — Many kinds of fertilizing material are 
commonly employed in oriental countries ; in the United States 



< AIN CAN AL;80 feet WIDE;; 
tMeasuring Flumf. WAGON ROAD. 




DRAINAQE DITCH. 

Plat of rice field in Raywood plantation showing method of Irrigation in southwestern 
Louisiana and southeastern Texas. The different tracts are on different levels. Water 
enters at measuring flume, floods first tract, passes over field levee, floods second tract, 
and so on until the whole field is flooded. Water is removed through drainage ditch by 
opening field levees. On this plantation the water in the main canal shown in illustration 
has been raised a total of sixty-five feet by means of three pumping stations. At the 
initial station the canal is I 50 feet wide. (After Bond.) 

the land is seldom manured for rice. The irrigation of the land 
presents problems concerning nitrification and supply of fertil- 
izing constituents from the water that have not been fully 



FERTILIZERS FOR RICE 



3^3 



worked out. Usually the water has an abundance of potash, a 
partial supply of nitrogen for the crop requirement, and scarcely 
any phosphoric acid. The Louisiana Station suggests the pos- 
sibility of applying nitrogen and phosphorus in high grade 
commercial fertilizers in small quantities continuously to the 
water at the flood gates. Stable manure can be used judiciously 
upon places where surface soil has been removed in leveling 



PLAKOr 

Rice Pianthtiom 




Plat showing method of irrigating rice plantation in South Atlantic States. Heavy black 
lines represent levees about six feet high, thirty-five feet wide at bottom and twelve feet 
wide at top. Main canal reaches from river to creek between two levees. Double lines 
around each tract represent marginal canals or face ditches about three feet wide and 
deep, and single lines represent field ditches about fifty feet apart. Water enters and 
leaves each tract through the same flume by means of a box, called a trunk, so arranged 
that it can be set to allow the water to enter at high tide or can be set to allow water to 
leave at low tide. (After Keeney.) 

the land ; but heavy applications are to be avoided upon good 
soil, lest it cause the rice to lodge. If the straw and hulls are 
returned to the land the fertilizing ingredients removed are com- 
paratively small. Here, as elsewhere, the ecoaomy of fertilizers 
is a local question, and no specific rules can be given. (117) 

510. Laying Out the Plantation. — In preparing a plantation 
for rice culture, the area must be laid off into fields and a levee 



364 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

or dike thrown up around them. On at least one side of each 
field there must run a canal or sub-canal. These fields vary in 
shape and size according to the topography of the land and the 
ability to bring water to it. Usually the fields range in size 
from ten to forty acres. These fields are now subdivided into 
smaller areas, in order to get the water over the whole area with 
some uniformity. It is at this point that the system followed in 
the South Atlantic States differs radically from that of the South 
Central States. In the former the fields are subdivided by 
ditches placed parallel, usually about fifty feet apart, through 
which the water is conveyed to and from the land. In the 
South Central States the fields are divided into sub-fields or 
cuts, this being done by throwing up field or cut levees along 
the contour lines twelve to eighteen inches high. To flood the 
field, water is turned into the highest cut and conveyed from 
there to the next highest cut, and so on until the field has all 
been flooded. A drainage ditch at the long part of the field 
removes the water. The main features of the two systems are 
shown in the illustrations on pages 362 and 363. 

It is important that each of the smallest units of land be as 
level as possible, so that the water can be kept at as uniform 
depth as may be over the whole area, since uniformity of depth 
of water is a prime factor in the growth and maturity of the 
crop. To obtain the best result, there should not be a variation 
of more than six inches in the depth of water. 

511. Water Supply. — In the South Atlantic States the lands 
chiefly used for rice culture are the deltas near tidewater. Land 
is selected so that it may be flooded from the river at high tide 
and drained at low tide ; and is sufficiently remote from the 
sea to be free from salt water. Rice may be grown in slightly 
brackish water, but salt water is disastrous. Usually the land 
is not less than fifteen nor more than thirty miles from the 
sea. A tide of four feet is sufficient and less is sometimes used. 
Where properly located, water in this region is ample. Along 



IRRIGATION FOR RICE 3^)5 

the Mississippi River the water was formerly supplied from the 
river by putting a pipe through the levee, the land being highest 
next the river and the drainage being away from the stream. 
The water is now conveyed over the levee by means of a 
siphon, the former method being prohibited by law because the 
majority of disastrous breaks in the levees was attributed to 
them. In southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas not 
only are streams used for irrigation but advantage is taken of 
a stratum of water that underlies this territory at a depth of 125 
to 200 feet. When tapped, this water rises near the surface, 
sometimes within twenty feet, and in a few instances flowing 
wells have been obtained. Whatever the source of water, it is 
pumped to raise it to the proper level. The individual planter 
may have his own pumping outfit or water may be furnished an 
extensive area from a single system, and the planter is charged 
a certain percentage (usually one-fifth) of the rice raised for 
water supplied, or a certain number of pounds of rough rice 
(usually two barrels, or 324 pounds). 

Water for irrigation purposes should be uniform in temperature, 
not too cold, free from noxious weed seeds and injurious salts. 

512. Amount of "Water Required. — The amount of water 
required will vary with many conditions, including evaporation, 
seepage, drainage and the rainfall. Where abundant and 
obtained by gravity, larger quantities are likely to be used 
than where it is pumped. The Louisiana Station says that in 
that State each acre of rice is assumed to receive the equivalent 
of one-half inch of water daily during ninety days ; this is 
forty-five inches. Deducting twenty inches for rainfall leaves 
twenty-five inches to be supplied by irrigation.^ 

The Office of Experiment Stations has measured the water 
used at two plantations where water is obtained by pumping, 
with the following results : " 

1 La. Bui. •]■], p. 382. 

2 O. E. S. Bui. 113, pp. 22-28. 



366 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

Raywood canal Abbott land 



1 



Area irrigated, acres 


38.0 


37-4 


Depth of water received from canal, 






inches ..... 


19.7 


16.S 


Depth of rainfall, inches 


9.2 


10. 


Total depth of water received. 






inches ..... 


28.9 


26.5 


Evaporation, inches 


16.0 


14-5 



Net depth of water received by 

the land, inches . . . 12.9 12.0 

III. CULTURAL METHODS. 

513. Preparation of Seed Bed. — Two methods of preparing 
the soil are followed, known as dry culture and wet cul- 
ture. In the former the land is plowed in the fall and winter, 
preferably soon after the former crop has been harvested. In 
wet culture, the land is flooded in the spring, plowed and seed 
sown and harrowed in the water, after which the water is with- 
drawn to permit the rice to germinate. Wet culture is commonly 
practiced upon the buckshot soil because of the difficulty of 
plowing it when it is dry. Plowing is usually shallow, some- 
times not more than three inches deep. Machinery and the 
animals drawing it usually sink to the depth of the plowed land ; 
thus deep plowing adds to the labor, especially in the prairie 
regions where modern harvesting machinery is used. Whatever 
the customary depth of plowing, it is considered dangerous to 
plow deeper because of the accumulation of alkali in the subsoil 
just below the plow line. It is said, however, that where such 
deeper plowing is done, the alkali may in a measure be washed 
out by flooding and draining immediately after plowing. 

514. Sowing. — The date of sowing may vary from the 
middle of March to the middle of May. Where dry culture 
is practiced the sowing is earlier than with wet culture. On 



IRRIGATION FOR RICE 367 

the alluvial lands of the Mississippi River the seed is sown 
broadcast by hand, but on the prairie soils seeding with the 
ordinary grain drill (135) is preferred because of the saving of 
seed and uniformity of germination. (131) The rotary broad- 
cast seeder, however, is frequently used. (412) In the South 
Atlantic States the land is laid off with a trenching hoe into 
small furrows two to three inches deep, three to five inches wide 
and twelve to fifteen inches apart. Into these drill rows the seed 
is deposited and covered lightly, or more rarely left uncovered, 
in which case the seeds are sometimes soaked in thick clay 
water to prevent seed from floating away. The rate of seeding 
varies from one to three bushels per acre of rough rice. In the 
South Atlantic States two and one-half to three bushels are 
customary, while in the South Central States one to two bushels 
are ordinarily used. In new fields or in fields not infested with 
red rice, if any such exist, great care should be taken to use 
seed that is absolutely free from it. 

515. Application of Water. — When lack of moisture makes 
it necessary, the land is flooded immediately after seeding for 
a few days to sprout the seed, when the water is removed. 
The land is then left until the plants are well started. In the 
South Central States flooding usually occurs when plants are six 
to ten inches high, which is from one to two months after seed- 
ing. The water remains on the land continuously until the 
grains are in the milk, when it is removed for the crop to ripen, 
which requires about a week. The period of irrigation varies 
from two to three months, usually about seventy days. Flood- 
ing usually takes place in June and the water is removed in 
August. The depth of water used varies, particularly with the 
supply, A uniform covering of three to six inches is con- 
sidered satisfactory, although six to twelve inches are recom- 
mended. The water is constantly renewed in order to keep it 
from becoming stagnant, particularly to prevent the growth of 
weeds which are more abundant in stairnant water. The method 



368 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



^ 



of irrigation in the South Atlantic States is somewhat different 
and is about as follows : As soon as the seed is sown water is 
let on for four to six days until the grain has sprouted and then 
withdrawn. This is called " sprout water." After the rice has 
two leaves, enough water is put on to completely cover the 
plant, then lowered to about six inches, where it is held for 
twenty or thirty days, after which it is removed and the field 
allowed to dry. This is called " stretch water " or " long point 
flow." The field now remains without irrigation until the plant 
begins to throw up its culms, the land in the meantime being 
cultivated two or three times. Water is then turned on and 
remains on continuously, although changed every week to avoid 
becoming stagnant, until it is removed for harvest. This last 
irrigation is known as the " harvest water " or " lay by flow." 

516. Drainage. — The drainage is effected chiefly through 
open ditches, generally rather shallow, but the main ditches 
should be three feet deep in order to remove more effectively 
the alkali, which in rice lands, as elsewhere where irrigation is 
practiced, is apt to become troublesome. Rice is rather resistant 
to alkali, however, so much so that it is sometimes employed 
for the purpose of helping to rid the land of alkali for other 
crops. Tile drainage is the most effective method of removing 
the alkali, but is usually not resorted to on account of the 
expense and in some cases would not be feasible on account of 
filling with sediment. 

517. Cultivation. — Where the rice has been sown broadcast 
or by means of a grain drill, no cultivation is practicable. The 
worst weeds, however, are often removed by passing through 
the field and pulling by hand. In the South Atlantic States, 
however, the land is cultivated by hoeing lightly, or, more 
rarely, by using a one-horse cultivator. This is usually done 
before the plants begin to joint, the water having been removed 
and the land allowed to dry for this purpose. (515) 



ENEMIES OF RICE 369 



IV. ENEMIES. 

518. Weeds. — Perhaps the most serious menace to rice cul- 
ture is the growth of weeds. This is especially true where rice 
is grown without cultivation, and where the water comes from 
streams which abound in weed seeds and readily disseminate 
them. 

Dodson gives the following list of weeds which have proven most menacing to 
the rice fields : 1 

(i) Red rice (Orj'za saiiva var. rufi^ogon), 

(2) Large indigo, straight indigo, coffee weed, senna, long podded sesban 
{Sesbati macrocarpa Milhl.). 

(3) Curly indigo, sensitive joint vetch (Aeschynotnene virginka (L.) B. S. P.). 

(4) Tadpole grass, wiggle-tail, spear grass (Rliynchospora comiculata A. Gray). 

(5) Bull grass {Panicum agrostidi/orme Lanv). 

(6) Smart weeds (Polygonum, especially P. acre H. B. K.). 

(7) Turtle back (Commelina virginica I^.). 

(8) Alligator head {Diodia teres Walt, and Diodia virgiiiiiina L.). 

(9) Bird's eye (Sderia — several species). 

(10) Morning glory {Ifiotnoea iamnifolia), 

(11) Water grass [Pasfalum Jluitans Kunth. and P. virgatum") 

(12) Moss weeds. 

By far the most important and most serious one of these weeds is red rice. (505) 
Few rice fields are free from it. By many planters red rice is believed to result 
from volunteer plants growing from seeds of the cultivated white rice. It seems, 
however, to be demonstrated that it is a distinct strain, and that red rice can be 
obtained only from the seed of red rice. The two types readily cross, and the 
results of the Louisiana Station indicate that the red rice has the greater influenc'e 
where crossing takes place. 2 

Next to red rice in importance is the large indigo weed, both because of its 
abundance and large size, the plant often growing to a height of fifteen feet, while 
the stems sometimes attain a diameter of two to three inches. Like the curly 
indigo, it is a leguminous plant. 

The alluvial lands are especially liable to become infested with weeds, so that as 
a rule after two or three successive crops are raised, the soil must be devoted to a 
cultivated crop or allowed to grow up with weeds for one or two years. The weeds 
that are injurious to the rice plant are water weeds. If the land is drained, the field 
will grow up to dry land weeds and largely e.\terminate the water weeds, when the 
field can again be cultivated in rice. This is considered by some to be good prac- 
tice, since the land retains its fertility and the finest crop of rice is the first crop 

1 La. Bui. 61, 2d ser., pp. 402-436. 

2 La. Bui. 50, 2d ser. 



37° 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



after such treatment. One of the reasons for flooding is to prevent the growth of 
weeds, but those which germinate quickly are enabled to keep even or ahead of tlie rice 
and thus escape injury from flooding. In some cases, where the weeds get ahead of 
the rice, especially those weeds (not grasses) which grow from the tip, the fields are 
movm, which checks the weeds, while the rice, but little injured, shoots ahead, when 
the field can be flooded and weeds killed. This is not effective for weeds of the 
grass family, because the habits of growth are the same as in the rice. Mowing 
stubble and burning it soon after rice has been harvested is a rather effective 
method of killing weeds ; but the exposure of the bare soil to the rays of the sun 
and the lack of vegetation bring about physical, chemical and biological conditions 
that are imdesirable. Mowing and burning late in the fall, after weeds have gone 
to seed, is, therefore, more commonly practiced, but is not so effective in destroying 
weeds, since the moist soil protects many from burning. This late burning is 
sometimes followed by early spring plowing to induce germination of weeds, when 
they may be destroyed by cultivation before seeding. This results in late seeding, 

which is objectionable. (514) In the alluvial 
lands the weeds are pulled by hand two or 
three times during the growth of the crop. 

519. Fungous Diseases. — The rice 
plant is sometimes attacked by a smut 
{Tilletia corona Serib.), occurring on several 
grasses. It is very similar to the stinking 
smut on wheat. While not definitely proven, 
it is believed that the treatment recommended 
normal mature for stinking smut on wheat would be effica- 
cious. (149) The smut has not been widely 
reported, but in some instances it has appar- 
ently done considerable damage. The kernel 
of the rice is filled with a mass of black 
spores, as in the case of wheat, but it is not 

usually abnormally large. The cause of blast or blight, a premature death of the 

plant or only the head, is not fully understood. 

520. Insect Enemies. — The number of insects attacking rice are not many, 
nor are their injuries extensive or ordinarily serious. The principal one is the 
water weevil {Lissorliofitrus simplex Say). The adult is a small gray beetle, which 
makes its appearance in April and May and feeds upon the leaves of the young rice 
plant. The insects soon breed, and being semiaquatic in habit, the female lays its 
eggs among the roots of the plant. The eggs hatch in July and August into 
white, legless grubs, which feed upon the roots of the plant, where the principal 
damage is done, and which may be detected by the yellowish appearance of the 
plants, often in clumps. The presence of water seems necessary to the larvae ; 
hence the removal of the water and drying the land at the prop3r time is recom- 
mended, although this practice is injurious to the rice. 

The rice grub {Chalepus trochyfygus Burm.) is a scarabaeid beetle, the larva of 
which feeds upon the roots of upland rice. Water kills it. 




Three spikelets of rice; outer glumes 
shown at base. A, 
spikelet with healthy grain enclosed ; 
B, grain affected with rice smut shown 
at e ; C, grain more completely de- 
stroyed with rice smut shown at e. 
(After Anderson.) 



f 



ENEMIES OF RICE 37 I 

The rice stalk borer {Chilo plejadellus Treuck) is a crambid moth, tlie larva of 
which bores into the upper part of the stems, and in part, at least, is believed to 
cause what is known as " white blast." If it becomes serious, which is seldom, 
burning of stubble is recommended. The chinch bug (151) is sometimes injurious 
to rice fields, and the fall army worm {Laphygma frugiperda Sm. and Abb.), when 
numerous, may become injurious. 

521. Birds. — In some sections, the rice bird, reed bird or bobolink {DoHchonyx 
oryzh'orus L.) is one of the most serious obstacles to the culture of rice. It attacks 
the rice fields during the ripening period, being especially injurious when rice is in 
the milk. The rice bird is particularly injurious in the Soutr Atlantic States, 
where it is common to hire men and boys, called " bird minders," to scare a\vay the 
birds, the common method being that of shooting off guns loaded with powder, but 
usually not with shot, since the latter injures the rice. 

The English sparrow {Passer domesitais L.) has become a serious pest in parts of 
Louisiana, both to the ripening grain and while it is in the shock. The best pre- 
vention for the latter is prompt threshing, and, where this is not practicable, 
stacking. 

Many species of other birds occur in large numbers in the rice districts, drawn 
there by the abundance of palatable food, the most numerous of which are the 
various species of blackbirds. While these birds eat some rice, they gain most of 
their sustenance from the grain that has fallen to the stubble and from weed seeds : 
and are, therefore, believed to be beneficial rather than injurious. 



1 



XXV. 

RICE. 

I. HARVESTING AND USE. 

522. Time of Harvesting. — It requires from four to six 
months to mature a crop of rice. The date of harvesting in 
the United States varies usually from August to October, the 
early seeding and early harvest being preferred. The price 
realized generally is greater on account of lack of competition 
from foreign rice. The stage of maturity is probably more 
important with rice than with any other cereal crop, because of 
its marked tendency to shatter, and because of the process of 
milling, which requires grains which are not easily broken. 
Uniformity of ripeness is also essential ; hence the desirability 
of having all portions of the field covered with as uniform depth 
of water as practicable. To get the best results, it is usually 
considered desirable to harvest when the grain is in the stiff 
dough and the straw somewhat green. 

523. Method of Harvesting. — In the South Atlantic States 
and along the Mississippi River the sickle is still used, although 
not exclusively. In this case the sheaves are laid upon the 
stubble to partially dry when they are bound. In some cases 
the bundles are put into the shock, where they remain until 
drawn to the thresher ; while in other cases they are drawn 
from the field and placed in stacks, or in still other cases the 
grain is stacked loose. Heating in either shock or stack is 
liable to take place. 

" A rough method of measuring the temperature of the rick is by inserting a 
stake into the mass at either end. The stakes are examined daily by being drawn 
out suddenly, and if the inner point is found to be too hot to hold in the hand, the 



USE OF RICE 373 

rick must be pulled down, aired and built afresh ; but if the stake is not too hot to 
hold, the rick must be left imdisturbed." 1 

In the prairie regions the self-binding harvester is used. (164) 
Slow curing in the shade gives best milling rice. Shocks should 
be placed upon dry ground lengthwise east and west, and caps 
should be put on with heads towards the north in order to avoid 
the sun as far as may be." (161) 

524. Threshing. — Rice is now universally threshed in the 
United States with the ordinary threshing machine. The itin- 
erant machine (167) is used in the South Central States, but in 
the South Atlantic States stationary threshing machines placed 
under cover are employed, when they are referred to as thresh- 
ing mills. Some care is required to adjust the machine so as 
not to break the grains. 

525. Use. — The chief use of rice is for human food. It is 
estimated to enter into the dietary of more than one-half the 
population of the world, and is said to form more than fifty per 
cent of the subsistence of the people in some parts of Asia. In 
China it is used largely in connection with the fish raised so 
abundantly in their numerous waterways, and also with the soja 
bean {Glycine hispida Maxim.), which, on account of the high 
per cent of protein and fat in this bean, makes a diet resembling 
closely one made of meat, potatoes, bread and butter. Rice is 
usually eaten whole or in soups ; it is seldom made into any 
form of bread or pastry, for which it is not well adapted, on 
account of its low percentage of gluten. It is sometimes, how- 
ever, mixed with wheat flour. Rice is largely used for the 
manufacture of starch, and its lower grades are also used in the 
production of malt and alcoholic liquors. (465) The lower 
grades are so extensively used for this purpose as to be known 
to the trade as brewers' rice. 

1 U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. of Stat. Misc. Ser. 6, p. 23. 

2 U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. of Bot. Bui. 22, p. 29. 



374 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 




Rice straw is not highly prized as food for domestic animals 
on account of its lack of palatability, nor for bedding because 
of its coarseness. It is valued as manure for rice and other 
lands ; the straw, together with roots and stubble, containing 
much the larger proportion of the ash ingredients of the plant. 
The so-called " rice straw " used for making hats and other 
articles is not rice straw but that of other cereals grown for 
that purpose. (490) The so-called " rice paper " of the Chinese 

is made from the pith of a 
tree native to the island of 
Formosa.^ 

526. Preparation for Use. 
— The paddy or rough rice 
is prepared for use first by 
the removal of the husk or 
hull, and next by the re- 
moval of the cuticle or bran ; 
the bran in this case being 
analogous to the bran, mid- 
dlings and shorts of wheat. 
After the cuticle and embryo 
have been removed the ker- 
nels are polished in order 
to enhance their glossy ap- 
pearance. This is believed in no way to improve the nutritive 
value but rather to decrease it ; however, it greatly improves its 
commercial value. The following is a detailed account of the 
milling process : ^ 

" The processes of milling rice are quite complicated. The paddy is first screened 
to remove trash and foreign particles. The hulls, or chaff, are removed by rapidly 
revolving ' milling stones ' set about two-thirds of the langth of a rice grain apart. 
The produce goes over horizontal screens and blowers, which separate the light 

1 U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. of Stat. Misc. Ser. 6, p. 15. 

2 The Present Status of Rice Culture in the United States. By S. A. Knapp. 
U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. of Bot. Bui. 32, pp. 34-35. 



Rice, variety Honduras, showing steps in the mill- 
ing process: I, rough rice, as it comes from 
the threshing machine, known as paddy ; 2, 
same rice after it has been through the sheHer, 
which removes husks or flowering glume and 
palea ; 3, clean rice after it has been through 
either mortar and pounder or huller to remove 
cuticle and embryo, and through polisher to give 
it a highly finished surface. (After Bond.) 



PREPARATION OF RICE 375 

chaff and the whole and broken kernels. The grain is now of a mixed yellow and 
white color. To remove the outer skin the grain is put in huge mortars holding 
from 4 to 6 bushels each and pounded with pestles weighing 350 to 400 pounds- 
Strange to say, the heavy weight of tlie pestle breaks very little grain. 

" When sufficiently decorticated, the contents of the mortars, consisting now of 
flour, fine chaff, and clean rice of a dull, filmy creamy color, are removed to the 
flour screens, where the flour is sifted out. From thence the rice and fine chaff go 
to the fine-chaff fan, where tlie fine chaff is blown out and mixed with the other flour. 
The rice flour, as we call it, or more properly 'rice meal,' as our English neighbors 
call it, is very valuable as stock feed, being rich in carbohydrates as well as albumi- 
noids. 

" From the fine-qhaff fan the rice goes to the cooling bins, rendered necessary by 
the heavy frictional process through which it has just passed. It is allowed to 
remain here for eight or nine hours, and then passes to the brush screens, whence the 
smallest rice and what little flour is left pass down one side and the larger rice down 
the other, 

" The grain is now clean and ready for the last process — polishing. This is 
necessary to give the rfce its pearly luster, and it makes all the difference imaginable 
in its appearance. Tlie polishing is effected by friction against the rice of pieces of 
moose hide or sheepskin tanned and worked to a wonderful degree of softness, 
loosely tacked around a double cylinder of wood and wire gauze. From the pol- 
ishers the rice goes to the separating screens, composed of different sizes of gauze, 
where it is divided into its appropriate grades. It is then barreled and is ready for 
market. 

" In mills more recently erected the foregoing process has been modified by sub- 
stituting the ' huller ' for the mortar and pounder. The huller is a short, cast iron, 
horizontal tube with interior ribs and a funnel at one end to admit the rice. Within 
this tube revo-lves a shaft with ribs. These ribs are so adjusted that the revolution 
of the shaft creates the friction necessary to remove the cuticle. The rice passes 
out of the huller at the end opposite the funnel. It resembles externally a large 
sausage machine. It requires six hullers for each set of burs. The automatic 
sacker and weigher is used instead of barreling, sacks being preferred for shipping 
the cleaned rice. Sheepskins are used for polishing. 

" With the above modifications of the milling processes considerable reduction 
has been made in the cost of the mill. Mills of a daily capacity of 60,000 pounds 
of cleaned rice can now be constructed at a total cost of Ji5io,ooo to ^15,000." 

Mills are now constructed suited to plantation use which 
combine all the operations in one machine, receiving the rough 
rice or paddy as it comes from the thresher and turning out 
clean rice ready for use. While the polish is not so high as in 
the more complicated processes, the product answers the require- 
ment of rice eating. 

In the preparation of rice for market it is important to have 



376 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

the grain remain whole, since if broken its commercial value is 
reduced about one-half. These unbroken kernels are known 
as head rice. Great variations exist in different varieties and 
different grades of rice in the proportion of head rice to broken 
rice, as well as in the total amount of milled rice produced from 
a given amount of paddy. No accurate figures can be given of 
the proportion of head rice to broken rice, but the following 
illustrates what may be obtained from 100 pounds of a good 
sample of rough rice : head rice, thirty-seven ; slightly broken, 
nineteen; very broken, six; polish, three; bran, fifteen; hulls 
and waste, twenty pounds. While as high as fifty per cent or 
more of head rice may be obtained in some cases, in others 
none is obtained. The product of American mills is about as 
follows : clean rice, sixty ; polish, four ; bran, seventeen ; and 
hulls and waste, nineteen per cent.^ 

527. By-Products. — The by-products of rice consist of hulls, 
bran and polish. The bran is properly composed of the cuticle 
(503) and the embryo, with a small mixture of hulls which it is 
not possible to prevent in the milling process. In practice, a 

considerable quantity of hulls is 
mixed with the bran. This mix- 
ture, sometimes containing as high 
as seventy per cent of hulls, is 
usually referred to in commerce 
as rice bran, while when the bran 

Characteristic ribbon-like rows of cells . . , , , in. 

in rice hulls, highly magnified, which IS Comparatively free from hull it 
serve to identify the ground hulls when jg called ricc meal, Both the bran 

used as an adulterant. (After Street.) . 

and the polish are also more or 
less mixed with small particles of broken rice, called grits. Rice 
hulls are not only of no value as food for domestic animals, but 
apparently are injurious. They are consumed at the mills as 
fuel and sold for packing breakable articles and for similar uses. 
They are also ground and sold as husk meal or star bran. The 

1 Twelfth Census of the United States, Bui. 201, p. 4, 




COMPOSITION OF RICE 



377 



Louisiana Station recommends a standard for rice bran of not 
more than ten per cent of hulls to prevent its adulteration with 
rice hulls. Assuming pure rice bran to contain ten per cent of 
crude fiber and pure hulls to contain forty per cent, the percent- 
age of adulteration of bran with hulls may be calculated by 
subtracting ten from the per cent of crude fiber found upon 
analysis and multiplying by three and one-third.* The New 
Jersey Station calls attention to the characteristic cells of the 
hull arranged in several convoluted ribbon-like rows as an easy 
means of identifying ground hulls when mixed with other feed.^ 
The following table gives recent analyses by the Louisiana 
Station : 







Pure 


Commer- 














Hulls 


bran or 
meal 


cial bran 3 


Polish 4 


Water 


9.0 


8.6 


9.9 


11.8 


Ash 


134 


87 


iJ-3 


34 


Protein 


2-5 


134 


9.9 


ii.i 


Crude fiber .... 


41.9 


9-5 


147 


3-8 


Nitrogen-free extract 


27.8 


45-5 


44-3 


64.0 


Fat 


0.4 


14-3 


9.9 


5-9 



Rice bran, which is the chief by-product, is characterized by its 
high percentage of fat, which through fermentation frequently 
breaks up into fatty acids and glycerine, thus causing a rancid 
taste which makes the bran unpalatable to domestic animals. 
When fresh, however, the bran makes an acceptable food for all 
classes of domestic animals and it is especially useful for mixing 
with the more nitrogenous cottonseed meal. Polish has been 
successfully fed to cattle and pigs, but is more largely used for 

1 La, Bui. 77, p. 440. 

2 N. J. Rpt, 1902, p. 130. 

8 Containing sixteen per cent hulls and twentj'-five per cent grits. 
* Containing twenty-two per cent grits. 



378 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

Other purposes, as the manufacture of buttons and as a stuffing 
material in the manufacture of sausage.^ The Louisiana Station 
has found the digestibility of commercial rice bran to be similar 
to that of wheat bran and polish to that of maize meal when fed 
to steers. 

II. PRODUCTION AND MARKETING. 

528. Production of Rice in the World. — While it is estimated 
that rice enters more or less into the dietary of 800 millions of 
people, or half the people of the world, the production of rice is 
not known accurately. It is estimated that Asia produces 72,387 
million pounds, Europe 1,507 million pounds, and North America 
284 million pounds.* According to this estimate, which includes 
the principal rice producing countries, the production of rice is 
about one-half that of maize or wheat, somewhat less than that 
of oats, and somewhat more than that of barley. While rice has 
been estimated to constitute the principal food of at least one- 
third the human race, it is probable that other foods, such as 
sorghum seed and the seeds of legumes, enter largely into their 
dietary. 

The countries of Central America produce rice somewhat 
extensively, Honduras being especially favored, while the coun- 
tries of northern South America produce rice sparingly. Italy 
and Spain are the chief rice producing countries of Europe and 
Egypt of Africa. Rice is produced throughout the warmer parts 
of Asia, China, Japan and India being especially noted for its 
production and the high state of its cultivation. 

529. Production of Rice in the United States. — Rice is a 
secondary crop in the United States, occupying, in 1899, about 
one-five-hundredth of the area in cereals. The production, 
however, has increased somewhat rapidly during the past 
decade on account of the development of the prairie regions 

1 La. Bui. ^^, p. 436. 

2 Inter. Encyc. Vol. XIV, p. 1049. 



1 



MARKETING OF RICE 



379 



19(50 1660 1870 r880 1890 I900 




of southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas. Marked 
changes have taken place in the production of rice in the 
South Atlantic States, due to changes in economic conditions, 
and to some extent to increased variations in the water supply, 
caused by the removal of forests from the headwaters of the 
streams. In 1899 sixty- 
one per cent of the crop 
of the United States was 
raised in Louisiana, seven- 
teen per cent in South 
Carolina and twelve per 
cent in Hawaii. The only 
other States raising more 

than one per cent of the ^hart showing production of rice in million pounds 
total production were ^y decades in south Central and South Atlantic 

Georgia, North Carolina 

and Texas. While Hawaii produces twelve per cent of the 

rice in the United States, this is not sufficient to supply the 

consumption of the islands. The Philippines also raise a 

considerable quantity of rice, but not sufficient for domestic 

consumption. 

530. Yield per Acre. — The average yield of rough rice per 
acre in the three census years, 1879, 1889, 1899, has been 746 
pounds. In Hawaii the yield per acre in 1899 was reported as 
3,663 pounds. In the Southern States a yield of ten to twelve 
barrels of 162 pounds each on irrigated land is considered 
satisfactory, while twenty barrels, and even thirty barrels, in 
exceptional cases, have been reported. The average price of 
rough rice in 1899 was three cents, and the value per acre was 
$22.46. 

531. Marketing. — The weight of a bushel of paddy or rough 
rice IS forty-five pounds. Paddy is, however, usually put up in 
barrels or sacks weighing 162 pounds, and commercial quota- 
tions are usually by the barrel, rather than by the bushel. 



380 HE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

Quotations of milled rice are usually by the pound. The New 
Orleans Board of Trade recognizes the following grades: 
extra fancy, fancy head, choice head, prime head, good head, 
fair head, ordinary, screenings, common, inferior. No. 2. All 
grades between extra fancy and fair are for whole grains or 
head rice. 

Grades between ordinary and inferior include broken grains ; 
while No. 2 is composed of fine particles, which are sold princi- 
pally to brewers. The wholesale price of rice of the highest 
grade is somewhat more than three times that of the lowest 
grade. Variations in grade of head rice depend principally 
upon the size of the kernel, the brilliancy of the polish and the 
pureness of the color. 

The export of rice from the United States is insignificant, but 
the import is fully one-half as much as the domestic production. 
The principal sources are Japan, China, Germany and Great 
Britain. 

III. HISTORY. 

532. History. — In the annual ceremony of sowing five kinds 
of seeds, instituted by the Chinese Emperor 2800 B. C, rice is 
considered the most important, since the Emperor must sow it 
himself, while the other four species may be sown by princes 
of the family.^ (192) Rice was not known to the ancient 
Egyptians. It was introduced into Spain by the Saracens, and 
into Italy in the fifteenth century A. D. It was introduced into 
the Virginia Colony in 1647 ; but its cultivation cannot be said 
to have begun until 1694, when a small bag of rice seed was 
presented to the Governor of South Carolina by the captain of 
a trading vessel bound from Madagascar. The garden in 
Longitude Lane, Charleston, where the industry originated, so 
far as this country is concerned, is still pointed out.'^ 

1 Origin of Cultivated Plants, p. 385. 

2 Ramsey: History of South Carolina ; U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. of Stat. Misc. 
Ser. 6, p. 8. 



rice: practicum 381 



Practicum. 

533. Study of the Rice Plant. — The plant may be studied in the 
laboratory, or partly in field, as opportunity offers. Compare Honduras, Carolina 
and Japan varieties. 

1. Height of culm : average of ten culms to tip of upper flowering glume . . . 

2. Diameter of culms : average of ten culms just below raceme . . . 

3. Vigor of plant : strong ; medium ; weak. 

4. Wall of culm: thick; medium; thin. 

5. Foliage: scanty; medium; abundant. 

6. Length of raceme : average of ten racemes from base of lower spikelet to tip 

of upper flovk'ering glume, not counting awn, if any , , , 

7. Compactness of raceme : very open ; open ; medium ; crowded. 

8. Shattering: badly; medium; none. 

9. Color : hull , . . ; cuticle . . . ; endosperm . . . 

10. Density of endosperm : vitreous ; mostly vitreous ; partly vitreous ; largely 

white. 

11. Dimensions of grains: average of twenty-five : length . . .; width . . .; 

thickness . . . 

12. Dimensions of kernel : average of twenty-five : length . . . ; width . . . ; 

thickness . . . 

13. Weight; average of twenty-five: grains . . .; kernels , . ,; percent 

of hulls to grain . . . 

14. Weight per bushel : obtained by weight of one pint . . . 

534. Collateral Reading. 

Rice: Its Cultivation, Production and Distribution in the United States and Foreign 

Countries. By Amory Austin. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. of Stat. Misc. 

Ser. 6, pp. 7-24. 
The Present Status of Rice Culture in the United States. By S. A. Knapp. 

U. S. Dept. of Agr., Div. of Bot. Bui. 22 (1899), pp. 21-33, 
Rice: Preparation, Cultivation, Flooding, Harvesting and Noxious Weeds in the 

Rice Fields. By Wm. C. Stubbs and W. R. Dodson. La. Bui. 61, 2d ser., 

pp. 3^5-392. 
Irrigation of Rice in the United States. By Frank Bond and George H. Keeney. 
U. S. Dept. of Agr,, Office of Expt. Sta, Bui. 113, pp. 14-20 and 60-68. 



XXVI. 

SORGHUM. 

I. STRUCTURE, COMPOSITION AND VARIETIES. 

535. Name. — There is no common name which is applied 
generally to the different cultivated forms of Andropogon sor- 
ghtim vulgaris Hackel, A. sorgJiwm Brot., Sorghiun vulgare 
Pers. The'cultivated forms may be divided into three groups : 
(i) Those varieties whose juice has a high per cent of sugar 
which is used for making sirup and from which sugar is some- 
times produced, known as sorghum {Sorghimi saccharatum 
Pers.), sometimes probably incorrectly recognized as a separate 
species ; (2) those varieties cultivated for their grain, known as 
Kafir corn, African millet, Indian millet, durra (spelled also dura, 
dhura, doura, dourra), milo maize, Jerusalem corn, Guiana corn, 
and Egyptian rice corn ; (3) those varieties cultivated for the 
production of their spikes which are used for making brooms, 
known as broom corn. 

The first form may be distinguished from the second and 
third forms by the quality of the juice, the first being known as 
sweet or saccharine sorghmns and the second and third being 
known as nonsaccharine sorghums. In this book the word sor- 
ghum will be used to apply to all cultivated forms, and state- 
ments made are to be taken as applying to all unless otherwise 
stated. 

536. Relationships. — Sorghum belongs to the same tribe 
(Andropogoneac) and to the same genus as Johnson grass 
(Andropogon halepensis Sibth.), which is believed by Hackel 
to be the original form of sorghum.^ 

* True Grasses, p. 59. 



J 



STRUCTURE OF SORGHUM 383 

There are several species belonging to different genera of 
grasses which with sorghum often pass under the name of 
millet. Such are Choetochloa italica, formerly Sctaria italica, 
Panicmn crus-galli, P. colonum, P. fruvicntaccitm, P. mil- 
iaceunt, Penisetum spicatum (L.) R. & S. Several of these 
species have numerous cultivated varieties and numerous com- 
mon names. Much confusion exists as to their botanical 
relationships and to the synonyms of the common names. 
The cultivation of some of these millets is very ancient, and the 
grain has been used extensively as human food. In the United 
States these plants are raised chiefly for hay. Canary grass 
{PJialaris canariensis L.), is raised for bird food, although 
sometimes in southern Europe for human consumption. 

537. The Plant. — The roots of the sorghum plant are said to 
have strong feeding capacity, which enables the plant to with- 
stand unfavorable environment. The Kansas Station found that 
the roots reach out laterally in all directions from two to six 
inches from the surface. The culms vary in height with variety, 
climate, season, soil and culture usually from four to eighteen 
feet, with greater variations in extreme cases. The culms, like 
those of maize, are solid. The leaves are abundant, rather 
thicker and more glossy than in maize. The upper leaf sheath 
sometimes extends around the lower portion of the head or spike ; 
when in broom corn it is called the " boot." 

538. The Inflorescence. — The inflorescence is in a more or less 
compact spike-like panicle, usually referred to as the head. The 
different types vary greatly in the form, size, compactness of the 
head ; the usual variations in length being from ten to eighteen 
inches, except in broom corn, where the " brush " may be twenty- 
eight inches long. 

The spikelets are one-flowered, some being sessile and others 
on pedicels of varying length, usually one of each at each 
joint of the rachis. 



384 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

539. The Grain. — The grain varies from other cereals in 
being more or less round. The color of the grains is variable, 
white and red being the more common colors. The color resides 
in the seed coats. The size and shape of the grain vary largely 
with the type and variety. The grain of Kalir varieties is larger 
and rounder than sweet sorghum or broom corn varieties. 

540. Composition. — Compared with the grain of maize, sor- 
ghum seed contains a somewhat smaller percentage of protein 
and about one-half the percentage of fat. Otherwise they are 
quite similar in composition. Sorghum fodder is distinctly 
lower in protein and higher in crude fiber than maize fodder. 
All varieties of sorghum contain some sugar, varying from two 
to twenty per cent of the juice, or from i .2 to twelve per cent of 
the cane. Those varieties which contain sufficient sugar, say 
t^n per cent, in juice, for the practical manufacture of sirup or 
sugar are called saccharine or sweet varieties, while other varie- 
ties are known as nonsaccharine varieties. 

541. Varieties. — Large number of varieties of sweet sorghum 
have been tested in this country, particularly with reference to 
their value for the production of sirup and sugar. Among these 
varieties are two rather well marked types : the amber canes 
and the orange canes, the former of these being rather more 
early maturing than the latter. These are also recognized as 
desirable varieties for forage purposes. Early amber, extra 
early ; Folger's, early ; Colman, medium ; and Collier, late, are 
recommended for this purpose as well as for the manufacture 
of sirup. Among the varieties grown for seed the principal 
ones are known as Kafir corn, of which three varieties are rec- 
ognized : red Kafir, white Kafir and black hulled white Kafir 
(synonym African millet). In the red Kafir the seed is red 
or light brown, while in the white Kafir the seed is white. The 
hulls are gray or greenish white, while in the black hulled white 
Kafir the hulls are gray, brown or black. In both the white 
varieties the hulls are hairy and larger than in the red variety. 



VARIETIES OF SORGHUM 



385 



where the hulls (glumes) are small, thin and brown, covering 
less than half the grain. The seed of both white varieties 
is less astringent and more palatable than the red variety. 
At the Kansas Station the red and black hulled white varie- 
^ .» ties have given the largest yields ; while at 
the Oklahoma Station the white varieties have 
given the best results. Up to the present time 
the red variety has been most generally grown, 




A, Sorghum; type, standard broom corn. (After Hartley.) B, Sweet sorghum: 
variety, amber cane. (After Denton.) C, Kafir corn : variety, black hulled 
white. (After Georgeson.) 

but the culture of the black hulled white variety is being rapidly 
extended. While the Kafir varieties have the widest adaptation 
and are most largely grown, durra (synonyms Indian millet, 
Egyptian corn), milo maize, Jerusalem corn and Egyptian rice 
corn are also grown, the latter two being especially adapted to 
higher altitudes and arid regions. 

" These are very similar to Kafir-corn in many respects, and in growing, harvest- 
ing and feedmg practically the same methods may be followed. The white milo 
maize grows a head very similar to Kafir-corn, is a heavy yielder of fodder, but 



386 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

requires a full and favorable season for maturing, and is often damaged by frost on 
this account. The yellow milo maize, or ' Brown Dhura,' does not require so long 
a season, and is a heavy yielder of grain, the head hanging down on a short goose- 
neck, when ripe. The crooked heads, which hook and cling to everything they 
touch, are a great hindrance in handling. The seed also shells badly when ripe. 
Rice-corn and Jerusalem corn are very similar in their growth, the heads of both 
hanging down, ard annoying in the same way as those of the yellovi^ milo maize. 
The seed of Jerusalem corn, being slightly flattened when ripe, can be distinguished 
from that of the rice-corn, which is round and also lighter in color. The two will 
mature in a short season and produce from twenty-five to fifty bushels of seed. 
They are adapted to the higher, cooler and drier counties of the western part of the 
state. They are very productive of seed, but the fodder yield is very light. In the 
eastern part of the state the English sparrow is a great pest where grain is raised. 
The seed is somewhat sweeter than the Kafir-corn grain, which they bother very 
little." 1 

Broom corn is divided into two types : the standard and the 
dwarf. Standard broom corn grows from ten to fifteen feet 
high, bearing a panicle of brush from eighteen to twenty-eight 
inches long ; while the dwarf grows from four to six feet high 
and bears a brush of finer qualit}* from ten to eighteen inches 
long, with occasionally strains that produce brush as long as two 
feet. The product of the dwarf variety is used for making 
whisk brooins and other brooms of small size ; while that of the 
standard sort is used for making ordinary carpet brooms. The 
dwarf varieties have a larger amount of foliage, are better 
adapted to stand drouth, and for cultivation on sandy soils. 
Kafir varieties usually grow from four to seven feet in height ; 
while sweet sorghum varieties usually range from eight to ten 
feet in height. 

542. Improvement of Varieties. — The wide variations in the 
cultivated forms of sorghum suggest that the varieties might be 
easily improved or modified by selection, provided they are kept 
from crossing. Hartley has shown that broom corn and sor- 
ghum will readily cross and produce intermediate forms when 
grown in adjacent fields.^ The different forms may become 

1 Rpt. Kan. St. Bd. of Agr., March, 1900 p 64. 

2 U. S. Dept. of Agr., Farmers' Bui. 174, p. 12. 



CLIMATE FOR SORGHUM 387 

injured by such crossing, thus making it desirable to exercise 
care with regard to the source of seed used for planting. The 
maintenance of a seed patch grown from seed selected from 
the best plants of the seed patch of the previous year is to be 
recommended here, as with other cereals. This is particularly 
true in the case of broom corn, inasmuch as there is consider- 
able variation in the brush of different plants, crooked and thick 
centered brushes greatly reducing the value of the product. 
These forms are probably hereditary and, if so, could be elimi- 
nated in the course of time by selection, although it would 
doubtless take some time on account of the influence of cross- 
ing. Hartley suggests that it might be possible to produce a 
saccharine variety of broom corn, thus securing a variety that 
would produce both broom and sirup. For the production of 
grain, Kansas prefers long closely compact heads. 

543. Germination. — The germinating power of sorghum is 
very likely to be low, and poor stands are very common because 
the grain, even though it has been thoroughly dried, is liable 
to absorb sufficient water in damp weather to produce fermen- 
tation. Grain intended for seed should, therefore, be left in the 
heads until planted. The heads may be either hung up sepa- 
rately or kept in loose piles in a dry, well-aired place. Testing 
the germination power is important and seed that is less than 
ninety per cent should not be used. 

II. CLIMATE AND SOIL. 

544. Climate. — Sorghum is especially adapted to a climate 
that is both hot and dry. 

" Perhaps the strongest recommendation of Kafir com lies in the fact that it will 
produce a crop on less rain than is required for corn, and that it is not affected so 
disastrously by hot winds. It is, therefore, especially adapted to the semiarid 
West, where corn succeeds only one in five or six years because of hot winds and 
drought. It is owing chiefly to this quality that its culture has spread so rapidly in 
Kansas and Oklahoma. Hot winds are the main cause of the failure of the corn 
crop in this region, and they are never more destructive than when they happen to 



388 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

come when the corn is tasseling. They cause the pollen to dry up, and the silk is 
not fertilized. Even with a sufficient rainfall, a few days of these withering blasts 
from the southwest, in tasseling time, may reduce the yield of corn fifty per cent. 
Kafir corn is not affected in the same way. Fertilization takes place more readily 
and the whole plant is better adapted to stand dry weather. The leaves are thicker 
and coarser than corn leaves, and do not dry out so readily ; they are closer together 
and partly protect each other, and the plant is not so tall and, therefore, not so 
much exposed. When corn has once been stunted by drought or hot winds, it never 
recovers. Not so with Kafir corn. It may remain stationary and curled for days 
and even weeks, but when the hot winds cease and rain comes it will revive and, if 
not too late in the season, will still produce a crop of grain." 1 

It is necessary to distinguish between possible climatic range 
and the economic climatic range of sorghum. While sorghum 
can be grown in almost any climate in which maize can be 
grown, its economic climatic range does not extend north of the 
fortieth parallel. 

545. Soil. — The soil requirements of sorghum are similar to 
those of maize, although the Kafir varieties are believed to suc- 
ceed on land too poor to raise the latter. The plant also seems 
to be rather more resistant to alkali. For its best development, 
broom corn requires rich soil. Ordinarily it would not be wise 
to attempt to raise it on any but the best maize lands, although 
river bottoms are usually not desirable on account of the weeds. 
Dwarf broom corn succeeds best on dry, sandy soils, the brush 
having a tendency to grow coarse on the richer soils. The 
same principles apply in the use of fertilizers as in maize. 
(285-294) 

546. Rotation. — Ordinarily sorghum takes the same place in 
the rotation as maize. It is a general experience that a crop fol- 
lowing sorghum, particularly the Kafir varieties, is not so good 
as one following maize. The reason for this appears to be that 
the sorghum being more resistant to drouth continues to grow 
and thus exhaust the soil of its moisture, and possibly its plant 
food, when the maize would be prevented from doing so. The 
land thus breaks up hard and lumpy after the sorghum. As a 

' U. S. Dept. of Agr., Farmers' Bui. 37, p. $. 



CULTURE OF SORGHUM 389 

remedy for this, the Kansas Station recommends more thorough 
surface tillage of the sorghum. Inasmuch as broom corn is har- 
vested soon after the flowers have set, the crop is not an 
exhaustive one. Broom corn is frequently raised continuously 
for many years on the same land without material diminution 
of the crop or injury to the land. Rotation of crops, however, 
is desirable on account of injury from insects and fungous 
diseases, particularly the latter. 

III. CULTURAL METHODS. 

547. Preparation of Seed Bed. — The preparation of the seed 
bed is similar to that for maize except that greater care is im- 
perative on account of the smaller seed and the slow early 
growth of the sorghum plant. For the first month after planting 
the growth of sorghum is much less rapid than that of maize, 
and the difficulty of keeping the land free of weeds is therefore 
greatly increased because of the difficulty of killing weeds with- 
out covering the plants. 

548. Time of Planting. — In the sections in which it is grown 
the time required to mature a crop is rather less than that re- 
quired for maize. During germination and early growth sor- 
ghum is very sensitive to cold, wet weather. It should not, 
therefore, be planted until the land has become thoroughly 
warm, usually from one to three weeks after the time for planting 
maize. 

549. Rate of Planting. — Generally speaking, about twice 
the number of plants per acre should be raised of sorghum as of 
maize. That is to say, if at the rate of one grain every twelve 
inches in rows forty-two inches apart is the best rate in a given 
locality for maize for the production of grain, then one grain 
every six inches would be the best for the Kafir varieties of 
sorghum for the production of the seeds or grains. If one grain 
every six inches is the best for the production of maize fodder 



390 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

or silage, then one grain every three inches would be the best 
for the production of sorghum fodder or silage. Since the Kafir 
varieties of sorghum do not grow as tall as maize, the rows may 
be closer together ; three feet being often recommended where 
the rows of maize are usually planted three feet eight inches 
apart. Experiments, however, do not show that any greater 
yields of grain or roughage can be obtained by having the rows 
closer together, provided the same number of plants are raised 
per acre. Standard varieties of broom corn are planted at the 
rate of one plant every three inches in rows three feet six inches 
or three feet eight inches apart ; and dwarf varieties are planted 
with plants two inches apart in rows three feet apart. The 
quality of the broom may be affected by the rate of planting ; 
the thicker the planting, the finer the brush. Sorghum may be 
drilled or planted in hills ; the former being the more common 
method. When the latter method is followed the hills are about 
eighteen inches apart in the rows. There are no experiments to 
show that the yield is greater in one case than in the other. 

550. Quantity of Seed. — The quantity of seed per acre used 
in practice is quite variable because of the variety of purposes 
for which it is raised, different methods of handling, difference 
in size of seed and liability of low germination. Three to four 
pounds of good seed are sufficient to plant an acre of broom 
corn. Where Kafir varieties are grown for grain alone five to 
six pounds of seed are used and twice this amount where fodder 
is also wanted. Where sweet sorghum is grown for forage 
fifteen to thirty pounds planted in rows and cultivated produce 
a palatable product, and is usually the most satisfactory method 
of handling the crop. When sown broadcast or drilled, as in 
the case of wheat, to be mown and treated as hay, as high as 
100 pounds of seed per acre are used. There is no evidence to 
show that this method produces greater yields, but it is preferred 
by some on account of the method of handling the crop, and 
because of its better keeping quality. Where the canes of sweet 



CULTURE OF SORGHUM 39! 

sorghum are large they are apt to retain their juices, which 
when frozen ferment, and rapid deterioration of the fodder 
results. Where sweet sorghum is grown for seed for subse- 
quent planting or for sirup two to three pounds per acre are 

sufficient. 

551. Method of Planting. — ^Any form of maize planter may 
be used for planting sorghum by substituting special plates. In 
case special plates are not available the rotary disk plate of the 
maize planter may be filled with melted lead and bored out the 
proper size. The wheat drill can also be used as suggested for 
maize. (305) 

" Perhaps the best and most practical is the ordinary grain-drill. As the rows 
should be thirty to tliirty-six inches apart, the holes may be stopped by tacking a 
piece of pasteboard over all except those which will plant the rows the proper dis- 
tance. On an eleven-hole drill, by stopping all but the outside holes and the mid- 
dle one, the rows will be thirty inches apart; or by arranging a thirteen-hole drill 
the same way the rows will be thirty-six inches apart, providing the distance 
between the shoes is six inches. A marker may be put on the drill by bolting a two- 
by-four timber to the middle post of the frame and letting it project behind to 
fasten the marker to, and pull the other end by a rope or chain from the marker to 
the doubletree. Or a slat may be fastened to the frame of the drill and project out 
to the sides in front of the wheels, and a light chain or wire be fastened to the slat 
to drag in the wheel mark made the previous round, and so adjusted as to indicate 
the proper distance from the last row planted." !■ 

Listing is frequently practiced, but more difficulty is experi- 
enced on account of the weeds and the slow growth of sorghum 
than in the case of maize. More injury also is experienced 
from flooding for the same reasons. 

552. Cultivation. — The principles underlying the cultivation 
A sorghum and the tools used are the same as those for maize, 
the only difference being that greater vigilance must be exer- 
cised to prevent weeds from getting a start. (312) The land 
should be kept harrowed sufficiently before the sorghum comes 
up to prevent weeds getting a start, and after it is up may be 
harrowed with a weeder or light harrow as suggested for maize. 

1 Rpt. Kan. .St. Bd. Agr., March, 1900, p. 56. 



392 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

(299) While the plant is between three and eight inches in 
height it will stand harrowing better than maize. 

553. Enemies of Sorghum. — Weeds are especially troublesome to sorghum 
on account of its slow early growth ; but there are none that are not common to 
maize. The sorghum plant is attacked by maize rust {Puccim'a sar^/ti Schw.) ^.nd 
also by smut (Sphacelotheca sorghi (L. K.) Clint.), which frequently does much 
damage to broom corn by producing its black smut spores in the seeds. It may 
be controlled by soaking the seed for fifteen minutes in hot water at 135° F. 1 or by 
the formalin treatment. The principal insect enemies are the chinch bug (151) 
and the plant louse. (333) 

554. Time of Harvesting. — The stage of maturity depends 
upon the purpose for which it has been raised. When raised 
for grain the seeds are allowed to become thoroughly mature, 
which usually happens while the stem and leaves are still green. 
Plants may stand in the field in this condition for several weeks 
without material injury, although there will be some loss from 
the shattering of the seed. It is desirable, however, especially 
when use is made of the fodder, to cut and shock it as soon as 
the seeds have become thoroughly mature. With broom corn, 
brush of a light color is desired and is obtained by cutting as 
soon as may be after the pollen has fallen. The early cut brush 
is also said to be heavier and more durable. The milk stage 
is as late as it may be safely allowed to stand, although in 
California seed is allowed to ripen, greatly to the detriment of 
the brush, as much as a ton of seed per acre being obtained.^ 

555. Method of Harvesting. — No thoroughly satisfactory 
method of handling the crop has yet been devised, especially 
in humid regions where there is some difficulty in keeping both 
the stover and the grain. It may be cut and shocked after the 
manner of maize by any of the methods recommended for that 
crop. (342) In some cases the header has been used, which 
gathers only the heads and leaves, the stalks standing in the 
field. In other cases the heads are removed by hand with a 

I 111. Bui. 47 ; 57. 

» U. S. Dept. of Agr., Farmers' Bui. 174, p. 17. 



HARVESTING OF SORGHUM 393 

corn knife, thrown directly into the wagon box, and afterwards 
stored in narrow, well ventilated maize cribs. 

556. Threshing. — The heads of the Kafir variety are fre- 
quently fed to cattle without threshing. In some cases the whole 
heads have been ground with fairly good results. For thresh- 
ing Kafir varieties, the ordinary threshing machine is used, the 
concave being taken out and a blank concave or smooth board 
being put in its place in order not to break the grain. In some 
cases only the heads are fed into the machine, these having been 
removed in the field or subsequently cut off on a chopping block 
with a corn knife. In other cases merely the heads of the 
fodder are put into the machine and removed ; while in still 
others the whole fodder is allowed to pass through the machine. 
The latter practice is not considered desirable on account of the 
readiness with which the shredded stover deteriorates. 

557. Method of Harvesting Broom Corn. — The brush of the dwarf 
varieties of broom corn are pulled by hand instead of being cut by knife. The brush 
is then laid in piles on the ground. On this account rainy weather during harvest 
is very disastrous to the crop. With the standard varieties of broom corn a method 
known as tabllns; fs practiced. The rows of broom corn are bent over a distance of 
thirty inches from the ground toward each other but at an angle of 45" from the 
direction of the rows. The brush is now cut at a distance of six to eight inches 
from the base ot the brush with a shoe knife ; care being taken not completely to 
sever the upper leaf sheaf or " boot " when cutting the culm. The brush is then piled 
on each alternate table, thus leaving the intervening table over which the wagons 
may enter the fields to remove the brush. 

558. Preparing Broom Corn for Market.— As rapidly as the brush is 
cut it is hauled to the cleaner, where the immature seeds are removed, the brush in- 
stead of passing tnrough the teeth of the cylinder being carried in front of and at an 
angle with it in such a manner as not to injure the brush. Machines are made re- 
quiring twelve to fifteen men to operate, which will clean thirty to forty acres a day. 
There are itinerant machines, but it is more satisfactory for the grower to own his 
own machine because of the superior quality of brush which can be obtained by 
prompt handling. The cleaned brush is placed two to three inches deep on slats in 
open sheds in order to dry rapidly without exposure to rain or strong light. As 
soon as dry enough so that no moisture can be removed on twisting the stems, which 
will be in two to four weeks, the brush is piled in compacted tiers to prevent bleach- 
ing. When dry it is compressed with a machine similar to a hay baler into a bale, 
by overlapping the heads, thus leaving tlie stem end at each end of the bale. A bale 



394 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

varies in weight from 300 to 400 pounds, averaging about 340 pounds. The brush 
is sorted at any convenient stage of the process. The most crooked brush can best 
be discarded in the field, while final sorting may be made just before baling. The 
production of broom corn is best engaged in by those who make it a specialty after 
having studied the business carefully in all its details. 

IV. USE AND PRODUCTION. 

559. Use. — As a food for horses, cattle and swine, sorghum 
seed is not considered the equivalent of maize. It is less pala- 
table and cannot successfully enter so exclusively or so contin- 
uously into their diet. On account of their more highly carbo- 
naceous character large quantities of leguminous foods should 
be fed. The seeds are somewhat astringent, especially m the 
red Kafir variety, and when fed in large quantities cause consti- 
pation. As a food for poultry it is highly prized. As a food for 
calves raised on skim milk it is highly commended both because 
of its high proportion of carbonaceous material and because of 
its tendency to overcome scouring.^ After a number of feeding 
trials, the Kansas Station concludes that the best way to feed 
the grain to fattening hogs is to place it unground into the 
feeding troughs and to pour over it sufficient water so that a 
small quantity will be left after the hogs have finished eating 
the grain. The purpose of the water is to lay the dust which, 
when the grain is fed dry, causes the hogs to cough severely. 
For cattle and horses the grain is usually ground, but whether 
grinding is best has not been experimentally determined. 
Large quantities of sorghum are raised for the fodder, handled 
after the manner ot maize fodder, or sown thicker and cut less 
mature as hay. It is also used for soiling, for which it is highly 
prized, for silage and for pasture. While large quantities of 
the nonsaccharine sorghum are used for this purpose, sweet 
sorghum is recommended as preferable. In the Southern States, 
where sorghum is sown as a hay crop, sometimes two and even 
three crops are harvested in one season ; the plant, when cut 

1 Kan. Bui. 33, p. 40. 



USE OF SORGHUM 395 

immature, possessing the ability to tlirow up new culms. Sweet 
sorglium is also used for the production of syrup, and formerly 
for the production of sugar, for which it is well adapted. The 
production of sugar from sugar cane and from sugar beets being 
more economical, the production of sugar from sorghum has 
been practically abandoned. 

Tho seed of both Kafir corn and broom corn has been used 
to a limited extent in the production of flour. Although bread 
of an inferior quality may be made from it, it is chiefly used for 
the production of griddlecakes. 

560. Danger from Use. — Many cases have been reported of 
animals dying suddenly from eating second growth or frosted 
sorghum. This was formerly believed to be due to bloating, 
and deaths may perhaps occur from this cause ; but it has been 
pretty well demonstrated that deaths occur from violent poison 
which is found in sorghum of stunted growth. This poison is 
now believed to be due to prussic acid. Investigations of the 
Nebraska Station show that the prussic acid is not present as 
such but that it is liberated as a glucoside by an enzyme in the 
plant. It appears that this glucoside is always present in the 
plant, but the plant is harmless except under conditions which 
favor the action of the enzyme. The conditions which favor 
action of the enzyme are not fully understood ; but it is believed 
that dry, clear weather, by arresting the normal development 
of the plant, is the chief cause of the formation of abnormal 
quantities of poison.^ 

561. Sorghum Sugar. — During the past twenty-five years the production of 
sugar from sorghum has been thoroughly studied, and several plants has'e been 
established in different States for its manufacture. While a considerable quantity 
of good sugar has been produced, most of the factories have been unsuccessful finan- 
cially. Some of the difficulties have been : 

I. A rather small yield of cane. The yield of cane has varied under normal 
conditions from about five to ten tons of clean cane per acre. 

3. A low average percentage of sugar in the cane. The percentage of sugar 
is much more variable than in sufar cane or beets. The other solids are higher, 

I Neb. Bui. 77. 



39.6 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

thus making the percentage of available sugar still less. The total per cent of 
sugar in the juice of sorghum manufactured commercially has probably been con- 
siderably under ten per cent. 

3. The rapid deterioration of the sugar in the sorghum from unknown causes, 
usually considered climatic, or from improper handling. Sugar cane may lie some 
weeks before it is used; beets maybe stored for months; sorghum must be used 
at once. 

4. Imperfect methods of extracting the juice. 

5. Improper treatment of the extracted juice. 

All these difficulties must be overcome before the manufacture of sorghum sugar 
can be a success. In the nature of the case the first three item.s are the most 
serious. 

Manifestly, continued experiment may find some localities especially adapted to 
the production of high yield. The Delaware Station reports yields of cane varying 
from ten to twenty-five tons per acre, with available sugar varying from 2,700 to 6,600 
pounds per acre, thus comparmg favorably with the production of sugar from sugar 
cane or sugar beets. This result has been brought about partly by local adaptation, 
partly by cultural methods and partly by selecting during ten years seed from sor- 
ghum of high quality. Beginning with an amber cane in 1889 containing eleven 
per cent of sugar with a purity of sixty-five per cent, canes were produced in 1898 
with more than twenty-one per cent of sugar having more than eighty-three per 
cent purity. 

Some improvements in the removal of the leaves and heads from the canes and 
in the extraction of the juice have been effected, in the opinion of the Delaware 
Station. It is also proposed that the difficulty due to the perishable nature of the 
sorghum may be overcome by several small plants for cleaning the cane and ex- 
tracting and concentrating the juice, with a central factory for the e.xtraction of 
the sugar. 

" To summarize, use seed from cane testing as high as possible in sugar, from 
15-18 per cent, with juice purities in excess of 80 degrees. Select land which will 
produce fifty bushels or more of corn after repeated manuring with crimson clover, 
which crop may have been pastured down or plowed under, or cured as hay. Fer- 
tilize with muriate of potash broadcast at rate of 160 lbs. per acre. To this add 150 
lbs. of nitrate of soda, provided some crop other than crimson clover has immediately 
preceded sorghum. Seed during the last fortnight in May, in rows 36 inches apart. 
Let each row consist of two lines of plants 4 inches apart, and in these lines let 
the plants stand at regular intervals of 6 inches. To each plant would then be 
given 108 square inches of soil surface. Cultivate as if for Indian corn. Prepare 
to begin milling during the last fortnight in September, provide cane for sixty days' 
work, to close November 15th. Such a field so planted and tilled should yield raw 
sugar in excess of 5,000 lbs. per acre." ' 

562. Sorghum Sirup. — .Sweet sorghum is mainly grown for the production of 
sirup, although its production for this purpose has declined. Sorghum juice has a 
larger proportion of solids not sugar than maple juice or sugar cane juice and when 

1 Del. Bui. 51 (1901), p. II. 



PRODUCTION OF SORGHUM 3-97 

these impurities are not removed they impart to the sirup an undesirable taste. As 
ordinarily manufactured, tlierefore, sorghum sirup is not as highly prized as maple 
or cane sirup, although good sirup can be made from sorghum by properly clarify- 
ing the juice. The process of manufacture is e.xtremely simple or complex, depend- 
ing upon the amount to be handled and the extent of the clarification. As rapidly 
as the canes are cut, which is when the seeds are in the dough stage, the heads and 
leaves are removed and the canes crushed between rollers to extract the juice. In 
the more simple processes the clarification is accomplished by skimming and 
decanting the liquid after allowing the sediment to settle. 

These processes are assisted by neutralizing the natural acids present with lime, 
by boiling to coagulate organic substances, and by adding clay to weigh down the 
suspended materials. After clarification the liquid is condensed until it weighs 
about eleven and one-half pounds per gallon. On account of the rather large 
proportion of uncrystallizable sugar, there is comparatively little danger of granu- 
lation with sorghum sirup or " molasses." With a properly adjusted mill, the cane 
will yield sixty per cent of its weight of juice and yield as a maximum about 
twenty gallons of sirup per ton of clean cane. 

563. Sorghum Crop of the World. — The seed of sorghum, 
under the name of millet or durra, enters into the dietary of 
a large proportion of the people of Africa and the drier and 
warmer portions of Asia. There are no statistics concerning its 
production. While it is not so palatable, it is not improbable 
that it is quite as important as is rice. The use of sorghum 
for sugar has been largely confined to America. It is some- 
what but not extensively raised in Europe for fodder. Broom 
corn is raised both in Italy and France as well as in the United 
States. 

564. Sorghum Crop of the United States. — Something less 
than 200,000 acres of sorghum seed were reported by the census 
of I goo under the name of Kafir corn, almost all of which was 
raised in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and California. Much larger 
quantities, however, are raised for forage. The production of 
sorghum for forage is not listed separate from maize by the 
census, but of three millions so listed, more than half is grown 
in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, and one-third by Kansas, where 
both the sweet and nonsaccharine varieties are known to be 
extensively raised. In 1899 sweet sorghum was raised for sirup 
upon 447,000 farms, each farm raising on an average less than 



398 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

an acre. The principal acreage is in the Southern States. None 
of the North Atlantic or Western States produces any consider- 
able quantity. Kansas and Missouri are the principal producers 
among the North Central States. The yield per acre of cane 
was 6.5 tons and of sirup fifty-eight gallons. The total acreage 
of Kafir varieties in Kansas in 1899 was reported at 619,000 
acres, of which 155,000 acres were raised for seed. 

565. Yield per Acre. — As a grain crop, sorghum is more 
productive than maize in the semiarid districts. The Kansas 
Station reports an average yield for eleven years ending 1899 of 
forty-six bushels per acre of Kafir corn and thirty-five bushels 
per acre of maize. Their highest yield in any one year was 
Kafir corn ninety-eight bushels and maize seventy-eight bushels. 
In the semiarid districts west of the Kansas Station it is believed 
that the relative difference in yield is still greater. The average 
yield of broom corn in 1889 was 509 pounds of brush per acre, 
averaging four cents per pound, which has been the average 
price of broom corn brush in Illinois for the twenty-five years 
ending 1901. One-third of a ton of standard brush or one-fifth 
of a ton of dwarf brush per acre is considered a satisfactory 
crop. 

566. History. — Sorghum is probably indigenous to tropical 
Africa, whence it was introduced into Egypt in prehistoric times 
and from there into India and finally into China.-^ Sweet sor- 
ghum was introduced into the United States in 1845 and widely 
disseminated through the influence of Orange Judd. The Kafir 
varieties now generally grown for seed were introduced 
about 1885 by the United States Department of Agriculture. 
Their cultivation has been rapidly extended in the regions 
to which they are especially adapted. Broom corn has been 
cultivated in this country for more than 100 years. Brewer 
believes the use of sorghum for the production of broom origi- 

1 Origin of Cultivated Plants, p. 3S2. 



sorghum: collaterai. reading 399 

nated in the North Atlantic States, it having been formerly 
extensively raised in New York State, particularly in the Mohawk 
Valley.^ 

567. Collateral Reading. 
Kafir Com. By C. C. Georgeson. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Farmers' Bui. 2,7- 
Sorghum as a Forage Crop. By Thomas A. Wilhams. U. S. Dept. of Agr., 

Farmers' Bui. 50. 
Broom Corn. By Charles P. Hartley. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Farmers' Bui. 174. 
Pedigreed Sorghum as a Source of Cane Sugar. By A. T. Neale. Del. Col. 

Agr. Expt. Sta. Bui. 51, pp. 3-1 1. 
Sorghum Sirup Manufacture. By A. A. Denton. U. S. Dept. of Agr., Farmers' 

Bui. 135. 

1 Tenth Census of the U. S., Vol. Agr., p. 510. 



1 



XXVII. 

BUCKWHEAT. 

568. Name. — Buckwheat obtains its name from its resem- 
blance to the beechnut; the German for buckwheat {buch- 
weizen), meaning beechwheat, having been corrupted in Eng- 
lish into buckwheat. Fagopyriini, the name of the genus to 
which this plant belongs, means beechwheat. Buckwheat is 
not a cereal from a botanical point of view, but because its seed 
serves the purpose of cereals and enters into commerce as such 
it is customary to class it with the cereal crops. 

569. Relationships. — This plant belongs to the buckwheat 
family (Polygonaceae), which includes the various species of 
sorrel and dock {Rnntcx), and of smartweed, knotweed, bind- 
weed {Polygonum), all more or less troublesome weeds. 

570. The Plant. — The roots of buckwheat are entirely dif- 
ferent from those of the true cereals, consisting of one primary 
root and several branches. While the primary root extends 
directly downward and thus reaches into moist soil, its roots 
do not extend over large areas either laterally or vertically. 
The plant grows from two to four, under ordinary cultivation 
about three feet in height. It has a watery stem varying at 
the base from three-eighths to five-eighths inch in diameter. 
While green the color of the stem varies from green to red, 
which upon ripening becomes brown. The plant does not tiller 
or sucker, only one stem being produced from each seed. The 
stem is more or less branched, however, depending upon the 
thickness of seeding ; the plant by this means adapting itself 
to its environment. The normal amount of branching under 
ordinary field culture may be seen in (581). The leaves are 



STRUCTURE OF BUCKWHEAT 



401 



alternate, triangular, about as long as broad, varying in both 
dimensions from two to four inches, borne upon a pedicel 
var}'ing from nearly sessile to nearly four inches in length. At 
the point where the branches or leaves arise upon the stem the 
stipule is developed into a legging known as an ochrea. The 
growth of the stem is from the tip instead of from the base, as is 
the case in the grass family. 

571. The Flowers. — The pinkish white flowers are borne in 
a flat-topped cluster in the axils of the leaves and at the end of 
the stem or branch. There are no petals, 
but the sepals of the calyx have the ap- 
pearance of petals. The calyx remains 
attached upon threshing at the base of the 
ripened grain. There are eight stamens 
and one three-parted pistil. There are 
two form of flowers, one with long stamens 
and short st}'les and the other with short 
stamens and long styles. Each plant bears 
but one form and the plants bearing the 
two forms are about equally divided. The 
New Jersey Station has shown that the 
fertility of the soil does not influence the 
ratio of the two forms and that seed from 

either form produce plants with both Buckwheat flowers: variety, 
*■ * silver bull, or>e-haif natural 

forms in about equal numbers; although size; biossorD on left, tong 

a slight tendency to follow the parent stamen and short style form, 
o J » natural size 

form was thought to be observed.^ The 

crossing between the two unlike forms by insect visitation is 

believed to be secured by this arrangement. 

572. The Grain. — The grain of buckwheat is called an 
achene, and consists of a single seed enclosed in the pericarp. 
The pericarp in a mature grain is a thick, hard hull with a 




1 N. J. Rpt. 1900, p. 458 J X901, p. 445 



402 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



smooth, somewhat shining surface. This hull is slightly in- 
flated, easily removed, its triangular edges often splitting apart 
in stored grain. The testa is membraneous, light yellowish 
green in color; the embryo is curved and extends through the 
center, dividing the endosperm into two parts. The endo- 
sperm is comparatively soft and pure white in color. The 
embryo is relatively larger than in wheat. 

573. Physical Properties. — The grain of buckwheat may be 
described as a triangular pyramid with a rounded or bluntly 
rounded base. The base of the kernel after the hull has been 
removed is more nearly flat. While a cross section of the grain 
is usually three-angled, it is occasionally four-angled and more 
rarely two-angled. The grains vary in length from three-six- 
teenths to three-eighths inch. The width of the three sides is 
about equal, usually one-eighth to three-sixteenths inch at its 
widest part. The hull, and hence the grain, varies in color 
from silver gray to reddish brown and black. The legal weight 
per bushel of buckwheat varies in different States from forty to 
fifty-six pounds. In New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan and 
Canada, where it is chiefly raised, the weight per bushel is 
forty-eight pounds. 

574. Composition. — The following is the composition of buck- 
wheat, buckwheat straw, buckwheat flour and its by-products : 



I 





Grain 


Straw 


Flour 


Middlings 


Hulls 


No. of analyses 


8 


3 


4 


6 


3 


Water . 


12.6 


9.9 


14.6 


12.7 


10.1 


Ash . . . 


2.0 


5-5 


I.O 


51 


2.0 


Protein (N X6.25) . 


10.0 


5.2 


6.9 


28.1 


4.6 


Crude fiber . 


87 


43-0 


0-3 


4.2 


447 


Nitrogen-free extract 


64.5 


35-1 


75.8 


42.2 


377 


Fat ... 


2.2 


»-3 


1.4 


77 


0.9 



As compared with the grain of wheat, buckwheat contains 
a somewhat lower percentage of protein and a much higher 



VARIETIES OF BUCKWHEAT 403 

percentage of crude fiber. The chief difference in the flour 
of wheat and buckwheat is the much lower percentage of 
protein in the latter, there being only about two-thirds as much 
protein in buckwheat flour as in wheat flour. Buckwheat straw 
contains a somewhat higher percentage of protein and crude 
fiber and a correspondingly low percentage of nitrogen-free 
extract. Buckwheat middlings is distinguished for its high 
percentage of protein and fat. 

575. Species. — Three cultivated species of buckwheat have 
been recognized, only the first two of which have with cer- 
tainty been grown in this country: (i) common buckwheat 
{Fagopyrnm esculcntnm Moench.), (2) Tartary buckwheat (F. 
tartaricutn Gaertn.), and (3) notch-seeded buckwheat (F. cmargi- 
natiim Meissn.). Tarlary buckwheat grows more slender, its 
leaves are arrow-shaped, with shorter petioles than common 
buckwheat ; its flowers are greenish or yellowish in racemes.^ 
The hull of the grain is rough and its angles wa\y. The grains 
are smaller than common buckwheat. It is cultivated in the 
cooler and more mountainous parts of Asia because it is hardier 
and will succeed where common buckwheat fails. It is culti- 
vated in eastern Canada, Maine, and occasionally elsewhere. 
The grains of notch-seeded buckwheat differ from this and the 
common buckwheat by having the angles or edges of the hull 
extended into wide, rounded margins or wings, thus making 
the total width of the grain greater, although the kernel is no 
larger. The hull is not rough but smooth, as in the case of 
common buckwheat, which it otherwise resembles very closely. 
Since no wild species has been reported, it may be a cultivated 
form of the latter. It is reported as cultivated in northeastern 
India and China. 

576. Varieties. — There are three types or principal varieties 
of common buckwheat raised in America : Japanese, silver hull, 

1 L. H. Bailey: Cyclopedia of Horticulture, p. 570. 



404 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

and common gray. The grain of the silver hull is smaller and 
plumper than the Japanese. In the latter variety there is a 
tendency for the angles or edges of the hull to extend into a 
wing, making the faces of the grain more concave. The plant 
is also stronger and somewhat larger, and its flowers less liable 
to blast from hot weather. Each of these varieties has given 
the largest yield of grain in single tests at different stations. 
At the Ontario Agricultural College the average yield of grain 
during seven years has been Japanese, twenty-one ; silver hull, 
eighteen, and common gray, sixteen bushels; of straw, 2.9, 2.8 
and 2.6 tons respectively.^ At the North Dakota Station two 
introduced varieties, Russian No. i and Orenburg No. 6, gave 
the best results.^ The Japanese is sometimes mixed with a 
smaller growing variety. It is thought that more blossoms 
develop and that the Japanese in shading the smaller variety 
prevents its flowers from blasting. The desirability of this 
practice has not been experimentally demonstrated. 

577. Climate. — Buckwheat is adapted to a moist cool climate ; 
and while it will germinate in very dry soil the yield is very 
easily affected by drouth and hot weather. It grows at a higher 
altitude and its center of production is farther north than any 
other cereal in America. Under favorable conditions it will 
mature a crop of seed in eight to ten weeks, thus making it the 
shortest season cereal crop. 

578. Soil. — Buckwheat does best on a rather sandy well- 
drained soil. It is possible to mature buckwheat on poor soil, 
and it is frequently grown on soil that is both poor and badly 
tilled. While apparently the soil has less effect upon yield than 
climate and season, nevertheless buckwheat will respond to a 
good soil, and no unfavorable results will follow from a high 
state of fertility. As in the other small grains, the proportion 

1 Ont. Agr. Col. and E.xpt. Farms Rpt. 1902, p. 119. 
' N. Dak. Rpt. 1900, p. 59. 



CULTURE OF BUCKWHEAT 405 

of straw will be greater, but when lodging occurs, the conse- 
quences are more serious than with the true cereals, since the 
plant has no method of rising again. (378) Buckwheat responds 
to applications of cheap low-grade fertilizers more regularly than 
most crops. In Pennsylvania farmers that do not use fertilizers 
on any other crop buy it for buckwheat. The fact that these 
low-grade manures are usually low in nitrogen and potash, but 
fair in phosphoric acid, indicates that it is especially benefited 
by the last. 

579. Rotation. — Rotation is seldom practiced because of the 
place buckwheat holds in the farm management, being fre- 
quently resorted to as a substitute for meadow or maize that 
has failed. Other things equal, it is placed upon the poorest 
soil or upon that in the. lowest state of productivity for cropping. 
The crop it follows is perhaps less important than the crop which 
follows it. It is often held that the succeeding crop of maize or 
oats is reduced because of its growth. Buckwheat leaves the 
soil in a remarkably mellow or ashy condition, which in the 
case of light soils is objectionable, but in the case of heavy soils 
is desirable, especially as preparation for potatoes particularly, 
on account of the smoothness of the tubers when the latter follow 
buckwheat. The following rotation is sometimes practiced: 
potatoes, one year; oats or wheat, one year, and medium red 
clover, one year. The first crop only of the clover is harvested, 
when the land is immediately plowed and sown to buckwheat. 

580. Green Manuring. — Buckwheat is sometimes used for 
green manuring. The ash constituents and the nitrogen are 
rather high for a nonleguminous plant. It will germinate in 
rather dry soil, grows rapidly and rots easily. Where these 
factors are important considerations the use of buckwheat for 
green manuring is indicated. It is possible by the use of buck- 
wheat to incorporate organic matter into a soil that is almost 
too poor to grow any other crop. 



4o6 



THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 



581. Preparation of Seed Bed. — Since a great deal of buck- 
wheat is sown because of the failure of some other crop or be- 
cause the delay 
in farm work has 
prevented the 
preparation of 
the land in time 
for an earlier 
sown crop, the 
preparation of 
the seed bed usu- 
ally takes place 
immediately be- 
fore seeding. 
The land is usu- 
ally plowed and 
prepared as for 
any other cereal. 
Early and thor- 
ough preparation 
of the seed bed, 
however, is ad- 
visable, as shown 
by the illustra- 
tions in this 
paragraph. 

582. Seeding. 
— The date of 
seeding varies 
from May first to August first. The preferred time varies from 
the middle of June to the middle of July, depending upon locality. 
If sown too early, the flowers are liable to blast by the warm 
weather. The plant begins to blossom when quite small and 
continues until frost comes. Thus the plant has seeds in all 




Buckwheat: variety, Japanese, showing influence of preparation 
of seed bed upon growth. Plat on which larger plant grew was 
cultivated during the spring, while In plat upon which smaller one 
grew the weeds were allowed to grow in the usual manner. 
Just before seeding, which was July 6, all plats were plowed 
and prepared in usual manner. Illustration shows plants at six 
weeks from seeding. From unpublished data of Cornell Station. 
(One-twelfth natural size.) 



USE OF BUCKWHEAT 407 

stages of maturity. When the earlier blossoms are blasted the 
later blossoms produce the seed. For this reason and because 
of the lateness of sowing, the crop is particularly liable to suffer 
from frost. The amount of seed used varies from two to five 
pecks, three to four pecks being common ; depending principally 
upon the preparation of the seed bed. There is little trouble 
from foreign seed or from lack of germination. While the seed 
is usually sown broadcast by hand and harrowed in, the same 
reason exists for using the grain drill as in the case of wheat 
and other cereals. (131) 

583. Enemies. — On account of its rapid germination and the 
quickness with which the plant shades the ground, as well as 
the time of year at which it is usually sown, buckwheat is little 
troubled with weeds. It is also especially free from insect 
attacks and fungous diseases. The principal causes of failure 
are the blasting of the flowers from hot weather and from 
drouth or flood. 

584. Harvesting. — Buckwheat is usually harvested when the 
first seeds are fully mature, which is ordinarily in September. 
Buckwheat is a rather difficult crop to harvest. Much of it is 
still har\'^ested with the cradle. Where the land will permit, 
probably the self-rake reaper is the most desirable implement. 
In this case it is not bound but is set up in shocks something 
after the manner of maize fodder. It may be cut with the self- 
binder, put in long shocks without caps and threshed as soon 
as dry. It is rarely stacked or put in the barn on account of 
the difficulty cf getting the straw cured sufficiently to prevent 
heating. The grain is said to keep better, when carried over 
from one season to another, if put in two-bushel bags and piled 
loosely so as to admit of a good circulation of air, than when 
stored in bins. (168) 

585. Use. — The principal use of buckwheat is for the pro- 
duction of flour from which the well-known buckwheat cakes are 



4o8 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

made. There is also some sale for buckwheat groats, which is 
made by breaking the hull and separating the same from the 
kernels of the grain. The constant use of buckwheat is sup- 
posed to produce a feverish condition of the system which mani- 
fests itself in eruptions of the skin. Brewer suggests that inas- 
much as plants of the buckwheat family are used for their 
medicinal properties, perhaps the cultivated species has some 
such property which affects its physiological value as a food. 
Buckwheat is highly prized as a poultry food, it being popularly 
supposed to stimulate the egg laying capacity of hens. There 
is no experimental evidence to support this belief. When 
ground, it makes a good food for swine. Under favorable 
conditions, loo pounds of grain will produce sixty pounds of 
flour, twenty-four pounds of middlings or bran, and sixteen 
pounds of hulls. Buckwheat middlings is highly prized as a 
food for milch cows on account of its high percentage of pro- 
tein and fat. Buckwheat hulls are of little value. They are 
sometimes mixed with the middlings, the mixture being known 
as buckwheat feed. As a food for domestic animals, the former 
is greatly to be preferred. 

Buckwheat straw if protected from the weather is relished by 
stock. Where hay is so abundant that there is no occasion to 
feed straw, buckwheat straw has little feeding value; but if 
roughage is short it may be made to help out to good advan- 
tage. Used as bedding it does not last well, but it makes good 
bedding for cows, and because it is rich in minerals and rots so 
quickly it is desirable for manure. An old buckwheat straw 
stack or chaff pile is counted almost as good as manure. Some 
farmers report good results from using buckwheat as a green 
forage crop. It is highly prized for bees, buckwheat honey 
having a recognized place in the market. 

586. Production. — Buckwheat is grown throughout the cooler 
portions of Asia, being extensively grown in Japan, and is 
rather sparingly grown in Europe, being less important there 



HISTORY OF BUCKWHEAT 409 

than formerly. It is grown somewhat extensively in portions of 
Canada. In the United States the area devoted to this crop is 
one-sixth that of barley, about one-third that of rye and equal to 
the combined acreage of rice and sorghum grown for its seed. 
While a secondary crop, its place in the agriculture in the sec- 
tions where it is grown is more important than the statistics 
would indicate. New York and Pennsylvania produced two- 
thirds, and, with Michigan, Wisconsin and Maine, produced 
more than four-fifths of the crop in 1899. The production has 
not changed materially in the past twenty-five years, although in 
i860 the production was somewhat greater. In 1899 about 
200,000 farms reported an average of about four acres each. 
There is a small importation of buckwheat from Canada ; there 
is no export of either grain or flour. 

587. Yield per Acre. — The harvested crop may vary in yield 
from five to fifty bushels, thirty bushels per acre being consid- 
ered a rather large yield, and twenty to twenty-five bushels 
being considered satisfactory. The average yield in the United 
States in 1899 was, according to the census, fourteen bushels. 
The average yield for the ten years ending 1903, according to 
the estimates of the United States Department of Agriculture, 
was eighteen bushels per acre ; the average December farm 
price per bushel for the same period was fifty-two cents. 

588. History. — Although buckwheat is known to have been 
cultivated in China for 1,000 years, its cultivation is not be- 
lieved to be very ancient. It was introduced into Europe in 
the Middle Ages, being unknown to the ancient Egyptians, 
Greeks and Romans. It was introduced early into the Ameri- 
can Colonies, having been relatively much more important than 
at the present time. Formerly it was chiefly used as a substi- 
tute for wheat; now it is used as a luxury, although in many 
farm homes in Pennsylvania and New York buckwheat cakes 
constitute the principal bread food during the winter months. 
(170) 



410 THE CEREALS IN AMERICA 

Practicums. 

589. Description of Buckwheat. — Give each student typical plants of two 
or more varieties ; 

1. Height of stem . . . 

2. Diameter of stem: at base , . 

3. Seed clusters : number per plant . . , 

4. Number of grains : number per seed cluster . . .; number per plant . . . 

5. Color of grain : light gray ; medium gray ; dark gray ; brov^n ; black. 

6. Plumpness of grain : plump ; medium ; shrunken. 

7. Width : average of twenty-five grains . . . 

8. Length : average of twenty-five grains . . . 

9. Weight: average of twenty-five grains . . .; average of twenty-five hulls 
. . .; per cent of hulls . . . 

10. Volume weight: weight per bushel by weighing one pint. 
u. Specific gravity : use picnometer. (203) 

590. Relation of Buckwheat to Soil Moisture. — Having selected a 
soil, determine the amount of water it will hold when completely saturated. Fill 
sixteen three-gallon jars with this soil and determine the percentage of moisture in 
the soil. Sow buckwheat in four jars with sufficient water to fully saturate the 
soil; to four jars add. three-fourths this amount of water; to four jars add one-half 
this amount, and to four jars one-fourth this amount. By weighing the jars, main- 
tain the amount of water in them as indicated. At the end of tliree, si.x and nine 
weeks remove the plants from one jar in each of the series ; determine their fresh 
weight and the weight of water-free substance and add sufficient water to the 
remaining jars to make up for tlie water of the plants. When the plants have 
ripened, determine the weight of grain and straw in each of the remaining jars. 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Abnormal growths, maize 157 

Acre, derivation i 

Advantage, plant breeder's 23 

Acgilo['s 47 

Acschynomcne virginica 369 

African millet 382 

Agclains phocniccus 251 

Agriculture, definition i 

Agronomy, distinct from botany 2 

signification 2 

Agrostemma githago 93 

Aleurone layer, maize 155 

layer, wbeat, the 35 

Alligator head 369 

Alluim vincale 93 

Andropogon halcpciisis 382 

sorghum vulgaris 382 

Antiquity, wheat 130 

Aphis maidi-radicis 247 

maidis 250 

Application of principle of 

plant breeding delayed.. IS 

Army worm 349 

Arrhenatheruin avcnaceum .... 280 

Ash, in wheat 38 

maize i6t 

Artificial hybrids, wheat 66 

Arena sativa L 280 

Bacillus cloacae 244 

Bacterial disease of dent maize 

244, 245 

disease of sweet maize. 244, 246 

Barley, Ray Brewing 327 

breeding 328 

by-products 337 

center of production 340 

Chevalier 327 

climate and soil 328 

collateral reading 344 

commercial grades 340 

composition 321 

crop of Canada 339 

crop of the U. S 3i<i 

crop of the world 338 

cultural methods 332 

embryo 321 

endosperm, character 320 

exports and imports 340 

fungous diseases 336 

germination 323 

grain 319 

grain, practicum 342 

harvesting 334 

history 34° 

hull 320 

hull-less 3-5 



PAGE 

Barley, inflorescence 318 

insect enemies 336 

manuring 330 

plant 318 

plant, practicum 342 

preparation of seed bed... 332 
production and marketing. 338 

qualities for malting 322 

rate of seeding 333 

relationships 318 

rotation 329 

Scotch 326 

seed selection 334 

soil _ 329 

species 323 

structure and composition. 318 

threshing 333 

time of sowing ■.••.•• 333 

two and six-rowed varieties 325 

use 337 

tise for malting 337 

varieties 323 

weight per bushel 321 

winter and spring varieties 326 

yield per acre 340 

yield per acre in bushels, 
average si.xteen years. . . 331 

Barren stalks, maize 151 

Bay Brewing barley 327 

Bere 324 

Bidens connata 243 

frondosa 243 

hipinnata 243 

Bigg 324 

Bindweed 243 

Bird's eye 369 

Blackbird, American 251 

Blisstis leucopterus 98, 247 

Blooming, time and manner of, 

practicum 24 

Bran, wheat 35 

Brassica oleracea 18 

Bread, amount from flour 117 

Breeding, barley 328 

fundamental principles ... 15 

in animals i S 

in plants 1 5 

maize, for composition ... 191 

maize, for fat 191 

maize, for protein 192 

maize, for starch 192 

maize with varying perccnts 

of fat or protein 15 

maize, methods 194 

study of principles of 
plants 15 



412 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Brewers' grains 337 

Broadcasting or drilling wheat 84 

Bromus sccalinus 93 

Broom corn, harvesting, method 393 
corn, preparing for market 393 

Buckwheat, climate 404 

composition 402 

enemies 407 

fertilizers 405 

flowers 400 

grain 401 

green manuring 405 

harvesting 407 

history 409 

name 400 

physical properties 402 

plant 400 

practicums 410 

preparation of seed bed... 406 

production 408 

relation to soil moisture, 

practicum 410 

relationships 400 

rotation 405 

seeding 406 

soil 404 

species 403 

varieties 403 

yield per acre 409 

Bulb worm, wheat 98, loi 

Bull grass 369 

By-products, barley 337 

maize 265 

oats 310 

rice 376 

rye 352 

wheat 119 

wheat, composition 119 

wheat, food value 120 

Calandra granaria 102 

orysa 103 

Carbohydrates 162 

Cecidomyia destructor 98, 100 

Center of production, barley.. 340 

of production, rye 354 

wheat production 124 

Cereals, age as cultivated plants 10 

application of term 4 

Clialepus trochypygus 370 

Chamoeraphis 243 

Changes in farm crops 14 

of seed 20 

Chess 349 

or cheat 93 

Chevalier barley 327 

Chilo plcjadeUus 371 

Chinch bug, 247, 307, 336, 349, 371 

bug, wheat 98, 99 

Choetochloa italica 383 

Classification, oats 285 

of field crops 3 

Claviceps purpurea 350 

Climate, effects upon wheat, 

growth 69 



PAGE 

Climate, effects upon wheat, 

geographical distribution. 68 
effects upon wheat, quality 68 
influence on composition of 

wheat grain 44 

Cockle 93, 95 

Cocklebur 243 

Coffee, growth in United States 9 

weed 369 

Collateral reading, oats 317 

Color, maize 156 

Commelina virginica 369 

Commercial grades, wheat 128 

Composition, barley 321 

buckwheat 402 

maize 158 

sorghum 384 

Consumption of wheat per 

capita 125 

Control, difficulty of in plant 

breeding 16 

CoilTolvulllS 243 

arvcnsis 244 

sepiu m 244 

Corn bill bugs 247, 250 

ear-worm 247, 250 

root louse 247, 249 

root web- worm 247, 249 

root worm 247, 249 

Cotton, place among fiber plants 9 

Crainbus 247 

Crop production, condition of.. 10 

production, possibility of. . 10 

sorghum, of the U. S 397 

sorghum, of the world. . . 397 

wheat, of the U. S 123 

wheat, of the world 121 

Crops, choice of 11 

field 2 

forage 7 

maize, of the world 268 

miscellaneous 9 

profitableness of 11 

root 8 

specialty 13 

staple in U. S 9 

Cross-f ertilization, oats, 

method, practicum 314 

wheat 64 

wheat, law of 65 

wheat, method, practicum. 131 

Crossing a method of inducing 

variation 19 

maize 190 

oats 291 

wheat, important as method 

of improvement 65 

wheat, varieties produced 

by 64 

Crow 251 

Culms of maize 141 

of wheat 27 

Cultivated plants, classification 

of species 3 

plants, number of species, 2 



I 



INDEX 



413 



PAGE 

Cultivation, rice 368 

sorghum 391 

wheat 93 

Cultural methods, oats 296 

methods, results compared 297 

metliods, rye 349 

methods, sorghum 389 

Culture, influence on composi- 
tion of wheat grain 44 

wheat, reasons 130 

Curly indigo 369 

Current cross, maize influence. 185 

Cutworm 247 

Darnel 93 

Dent ear, description 170 

maize, varieties, classifica- 
tion 179 

maize, varieties, list 172 

Description, buckwheat, prac- 

ticum 410 

Diabrotica longicornis 247 

ij-f'iinctiita 247 

Diatraea saccharalis 250 

Diodia teres 369 

rtrginiona 369 

Diplosis tritici 98 

Distribution, maize 202 

and yield, oats, influence 

of climate 292 

DoUchoiiyx oryzivoriis 371 

Drainage, rice 368 

Drilling and broadcasting of 

wheat 84 

Ear, maize 147 

maize, characteristics .... 149 
maize, descriptive terms. . 149 

maize, _ position 148 

Egyptian rice corn 382 

Elateridae 247 

Elevators, wheat n 1 

Embryo, maize 153 

wheat 34 

Endosperm, barley, character. . 320 

maize 153 

wheat 35 

English sparrow 371 

Environment, influence on com- 
position of wheat grain.. 44 
a method of inducing varia- 
tion 19 

Ephestia kuelniiella 102 

Erysipliae graminis 336 

Euchlaena mcxicaiia 138 

Export, maize 271 

oats 312 

wheat and flour 126 

Fagopyrum 400 

emarginaium 403 

csculottum 403 

tartarictim 403 

Fall army worm 307, 371 

sowing, oats, method 305 

crops, changes in 14 

manure 77 

Fat, maize 162 



PAGE 

Fertilizers, b.irley 330 

buckwheat 405 

maize 213 

maize, influence of season 

on eflSciency 214 

maize, method of applying 214 

maize,_ stable manure 212 

oats, influence 295 

rice 362 

rye 347 

sorghum 388 

wheat, amount 76 

wheat, applying, time and 

manner 77 

wlicat, farm manures .... 77 

wheat, use 72 

Fertilization, wheat, methods.. 73 
Fertilizing constituents, carriers 75 
constituents, relative impor- 
tance 75 

Fiber plants, principal divisions 9 

Field crops 2 

crops, character of 10 

crops, classification, area 

and value of 3 

crops, tillage and harvest- 
ing 10 

Flax, place among fiber plants 9 

Flint maize 166 

maize, varieties, table 168 

Flour, wheat, amount of bread 117 

wheat, grades 115 

wheat, graham and entire. 116 

wheat, production 124 

wheat, source, amount and 

quality 113 

Fodder, maize 138 

maize, loss by curing 259 

and stover, maize 158 

Food, wheat, for animals 112 

Forage crops 7 

Forms, selection of 19 

Foxtail 243 

Fungous diseases, barley 336 

diseases, maize 244 

diseases, oats 306 

diseases, rice 370 

diseases, rye 350 

diseases, sorghum 3^2 

diseases, wheat 93, 96 

Ftisariuin roseum 96 

Germination, barley 323 

maize 19S 

oats 285 

sorghum 387 

wheat •. 46 

General farming 12 

Gliadin in wheat 43 

"CiUinie_ spot," wheat 96 

Gluten in_ wheat 38 

Glutenin in wheat 42 

Gortyna nitcia 250 

Grade uniformity, maize 274 

Grades, commercial, maize.... 273 

Grain, maize 151 



414 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Grain, maize, shape at maturity 15 J 

pop maize, size 166 

sorghum 384 

wheat 33 

Gramincae 26 

Grasses, area and production.. 6 

for various purposes 6 

number of species 6 

Grasshoppers 307, 349 

Green manuring, buckwheat. . . 405 

Guiana corn 382 

Habitat, original, wheat 130 

Harvester and thresher com- 
bined, wheat 108 

wheat, self-binding 106 

Harvesting barley 334 

broom corn, method 393 

buckwheat 407 

oats, time and method. . . 308 

rye 350 

sorghum, method 392 

sorghum, time 393 

wheat 102 

wheat, methods 105 

Header, wheat 107 

Heliotliis armigcr 247 

Helminthosl'orinin graminum . . 244 
Hemp, place among fiber plants 9 

Hessian fly 336 

fly, wheat 98, 100 

History, maize 274 

oats 313 

wheat 130 

Holcus lanatus 280 

Hoidcae 26, 138 

Hordeum nudum 325 

sativum 318 

sativum disticlwn 324 

satii'um lie.vastichon 323 

sativum vulgare 324 

spontaneum- 325 

Horticulture, definition i 

Hull-less barley 325 

Hull, barley 320 

maize 156 

oats 282 

Hybrids, artificial wheat 66 

Importance of field crops, rela- 
tive, practicum 12 

of large numbers 23 

Imports, wheat 128 

Improvement, examples 18 

in plants 17 

in seed 14 

methods 19 

wheat, by selection 63 

wheat, crossing a method. 65 
wheat, new strains or 
varieties, method of find- 
ing and testing 66 

wheat varieties 63 

Indian millet 382 

Inducing variation 19 

variation, methods of 19 

Inflorescence, barley 318 



PAGE 

Inflorescence, maize 144 

oats 28 1 

sorghum 383 

Insect enemies, barley 336 

enemies, oats 306 

enemies, wheat 93, 98 

Ipomoea tamnifolia 369 

Isosoma hordci 336 

Jerusalem corn 382 

Joanette oats 290 

Jute 9 

Kafir corn 38a 

Kherson oats 291 

Lachnosterna 247 

Laphygma friigiperda 371 

Large indigo 369 

numbers, importance of . . . z^ 
Law, variation from type, to 

demonstrate practicum.. 24 

Leaf blight fungus 244, 246 

Leaves, maize 142 

wheat 29 

Legumes, for hay and pasture 7 

for seeds 7 

Lime, maize 215 

wheat 76 

Linca granella 102 

Lissorhoptriis simplex 370 

Listing maize 224 

Lithospermum arvense 93 

Lolium italicum 26 

perenne 26 

remotum 26 

tcmuleutnm 26, 93 

Long podded sesban 369 

Loose smut 96 

Maize, aleurone layer 155 

application of lime 216 

ajiplication of stable manure 212 

ash 161 

average yield per acre of 
seed from different parts 

of ear 200 

breeding farm 15 

breeding for composition.. 192 
breeding for composition, 

advantage of 192 

breeding for composition, 

disadvantage of 192 

breeding for fat 191 

breeding for protein 192 

breeding for starch 192 

breeding methods 194 

breeding plat 194 

by-products 265 

carbohydrates 162 

causes limiting distribution 202 
character of ear, practicum 277 
character of grain, prac- 
ticum 276 

climate 202 

close breeding 187 

close breeding, degree.... 187 

collateral reading 279 

color 156 



INDEX 



415 



PAGB 

Maize, commercial fertilizers, 

use 21 J 

commercial fertilizers, use. 213 

commercial grades 273 

commercial grades, deter- 
mination, practicum .... 279 

composition 158 

composition at different 

stages of maturity 262 

composition, influence of 

climate 206 

composition, influence of 

seeding rate 229 

conservation of moisture, 
influence of soil stirring 240 

continuous cropping 209 

crop of the world 268 

crossing 190 

cultivation, amount 239 

cultivation, depth 237 

culms 141 

cultural methods 218 

current cross, influence. . . 185 
deep and shallow culture, 

table of results 237 

dent, score card, practicum 278 

dent varieties 176 

description of plant, prac- 
ticum 276 

detasseling 188 

detasseling, summary of 

results obtained 189 

distribution, method 232 

ear 147 

ear, characteristics 140 

ear, position 148 

ear, terms descriptive .... 149 

effect of stirring soil 236 

embryo 153 

endosperm 153 

enemies 251 

export 271 

fat 1 62 

fertilizers, influence of sea- 
son on efficiency 214 

fertilizers, method of ap- 
plying . 214 

field seed and breeding 
plat seed compared. ... 196 

field selection 196 

flint, yield 184 

fodder 138, 253 

fodder and stover.. 158 

fodder, loss by curing. . . . 259 
food for domestic animals 264 
food for human consump- 
tion 264 

fungous diseases 244 

germination 198 

grade uniformity 274 

grain ' 5 1 

grain, shape at maturity.. iSJ 

growths, abnormal iS7 

habit of growth, influence 
of climate 205 



PAGE 
Maize, harvesting and prepara- 
tion 253 

harvesting, effect of 

method 256 

harvesting, history 274 

harvesting, hull 156 

harvesting, time 259 

hilling and bedding 242 

improvement of varieties. 185 

in the U. S 269 

influence of maturity upon 

composition 261 

influence of maturity upon 

digestibility 26a 

influence of maturity upon 

feeding values AP63 

influence of maturity upon 

yield 260 

influence of organic matter 2H 

influence of rainfall 207 

influence of temperature. . 204 

inflorescence 144 

injury due to weeds 235 

insect enemies 247 

introduction into Eastern 

continent 275 

irrigation 217 

leaves 142 

limited distribution 202 

listing 224 

losses in the silo 258 

manufactured products .. 265 

marketing 273 

name signification 138 

nativity 274 

need of lime, indications 215 

need of water 207 

planting at different dates, 

results 226 

planting, depth 223 

planting, in hills or drills 231 

planting, rate 227 

planting, time 226 

plowing, depth 219 

plowing, time 218 

pollination 185 

power of soil, maintaining 211 

practicums 276 

preparing ground after 

plowing 221 

production and marketing. 268 

production, center 270 

production, per population. 270 

production, protein i6a 

production, pulling 256 

relationship of grain to 

stover 143 

relationships 138 

relative importance of fer- 
tilizing constituents .... 213 

rows, distance apart 234 

root pruning 236 

roots 139 

rotations 209 

rust -244. 240 



4i6 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Maize, seed from different 

parts of ear 200 

silk 146 

silo, the 257 

silage 138, 257 

smut 244 

soil and its amendments. . 208 

species 163 

stalks, barren 151 

storing 252 

stover 138 

subsoiling 221 

suckers 142 

surplus States 269 

tassel 146 

testing seed, method 199 

tillage, intercultural 235 

topping 25s 

treatment of seed 198 

two-eared varieties 150 

types and varieties, disposi- 
tion to maintain 190 

use of lime 215 

uses and preparations for 

use 264 

value to colonists 275 

varieties, influence of cli- 
mate 205 

varieties, number 182 

varieties, silage 182 

vitality of seed 197 

water 159 

weeds 243 

yield per acre 271 

Machinery, wheat, milling.... 117 

Malting barley 337 

barley, qualities 322 

Malt sprouts 337 

Manuring barley 330 

Marketing maize 272 

rice 379 

Maturity, maize, influence of 

temperature 205 

wheat, stage on yield 103 

Maydeae 138 

Medicinal and aromatic plants 9 

Meromysa americana 98 

Method cross-fertilization, prac- 

ticum, wheat 131 

Milling machinery, wheat 117 

Miscellaneous crops 9 

Mixing varieties, oats 299 

Morning glory 369 

JIoss weeds 369 

Moth, Mediteranean flour, 

wheat 102 

wolf, wheat 102 

Mulching, wheat 78 

Nativity, maize 274 

Nectarophora cerealis 98 

Noctuidae 247 

Oats, by-products 310 

center of production 312 

classification varieties . . . 285 

climate 292 



PAGE 

Oats, collateral reading 317 

commercial grades 313 

composition 284 

crop of the U. S 310 

crop of the world 310 

crossing 291 

cultural methods 296 

depth of sowing 304 

different cultural methods, 

results 297 

different types and varie- 
ties, value 287 

distribution and yield, in- 
fluence of climate 292 

distribution, influence of 

climate 292 

export 312 

fall sowing, method 305 

fertilizers, influence 295 

fungous diseases 306 

germination 285 

grain 282 

harvesting and uses 308 

hull 282 

human food 308 

inflorescence 281 

insect enemies 306, 307 

Joanette 290 

methods of sowing 304 

mixing varieties 299 

need of water 294 

physical properties, influ- 
ence of climate 293 

plant 280 

practicums 314 

production and marketing. 310 

progress of production... 311 

rate of seeding 302 

relation of hull to kernel 282 

relationships 280 

rotation 294 

seed bed 296 

seed selection 299 

seed selection, influence. . 298 

Siberian 290 

size of seed, influence.... 298 

soil _ and its amendments.. 294 
sowing time in Northern 

States 303 

sowing time in Southern 

States 303 

sowing with field peas. . . . 300 

sowing with other cereals 300 

sown with rape 301 

structure 280 

time and method of har- 
vesting 308 

treatment during growth. 297 

treatment of seed 301 

uses _ 308 

varieties _ 288 

varieties, improvement . . . 289 

varieties, Kherson 291 

varieties, new, introduc- 
tion 287 



INDEX 



417 



PACE 

Oats, varieties, Odcrbruckcr. . . jgo 

varieties, Swedish 290 

varieties, Tartar King . . . 290 

varieties, weeds 306 

varieties, weight per huslicl 283 
varieties, yield and value 

for three decades 310 

varieties, yield per acre.. 311 

Oderbrucker barley 327 

oats, varieties 290 

Oidiiim monilioides 336 

Oryza saliva 357. 369 

Panicum agrostidiforme 369 

colonum 383 

crus-galli 383 

fnimciitaceuiii ■ 383 

mitiacctim 383 

Paspaluin iJuitiuis 369 

virgatum 369 

Passer domcsticus 371 

Pedigree, wheat 56 

Pcmpelia lignosella 250 

Pcnisctum spicatum 383 

Plialaris caiiciriensis 383 

Physical properties, oats, in- 
fluence of climate 293 

Plantation, rice, laying out... 363 

Plant breeder's advantage 23 

breeding, application of 

principle delayed 15 

breeding, difficulty of con- 
trol in 16 

breeding, effect of envi- 
ronment 14 

breeding, effect of heredity 14 
breeding, seed not an in- 
dex of character of par- 
ent plant 16 

breeding, sexuality, a hin- 
drance to knowledge. . . 16 
in field, oats, practicum.. 314 
in _ laboratory, oats, prac- 
ticum 315 

sorghum 383 

Planting method, sorghum.... 391 

Plants, fiber 9 

medicinal and aromatic... 9 

sugar 8 

Plowing wheat, depth 80 

wheat, time 79 

Pod_ maize 164 

Pollination, maize 185 

Polygonaccae 400 

Polygonum 400 

Pop maize 1 64 

maize grain, size i66 

Practicum 12 

barley 342 

buckwheat 410 

maize 276 

oats 314 

rice 381 

wheat 131 

wheat, relation of attrib- 
utes 136 



PAGE 

Practicum, wheat, types 131 

wheat, varieties, classifica- 
tion 135 

Prairie squirrel, striped 251 

Production and marketing 

wheat 121 

flour, wheat 124 

wheat, progress 123 

I'rotein in wheat 38 

maize 163 

Pscudomonas stewarti 244 

Piiccinia coronata 306 

graminis 96 

rubigo-vcra 96 

sorglii 244 

Purifier, wheat 118 

Pyralidac 247 

Ramie 9 

Rape, sown with oats 301 

Rate of seeding, barley 33 

Reaper, wheat self -rake 106 

Red rice 369 

Rhynchospora corniculata .... 369 

Rice . 3S7 

application of water 367 

bird 371 

by-products 376 

climate and soils 360, 361 

collateral reading 381 

composition 359 

cultivation 368 

cultural methods 366 

drainage 368 

enemies 369 

fertilizers 362 

fungous diseases 370 

grain 358 

grub 370 

harvesting and use 372 

harvesting, method 37^ 

harvesting, time 372 

history 380 

insect enemies 370 

laying out of plantation.. 363 

marketing 379 

plant 358 

practicums 381 

preparation for use 374 

preparation of seed bed.. 366 
production and marketing 378 
production in the U. S. . . 378 
production in the world . . 378 

rotation 361 

soil 361 

sowing 366 

stalk borer 370 

structure and varieties... 357 

threshing 373 

use 573 

varieties 359 

water, amount required... 365 

water supply 364 

weeds 369 

yield per acre 379 



4i8 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Ripening wheat, influence ;>n 

composition 1 04 

Rolling wheat 92 

Root crops 8 

Roots of wheat 27 

Rotation, barley 329 

buckwheat 405 

maize 209 

oats 294 

rice 361 

rye 348 

sorghum 3S8 

wheat 74 

Runiex 400 

Rust 96 

Rye 345 

a soiling crop 352 

as green manure 348 

by-products 352 

center of production 354 

climate 347 

commercial grades 354 

composition 346 

crop of the U. S 353 

crop of the world 353 

cultural methods 349 

enemies 349 

giant S4 

harvesting 350 

history 354 

influence of specific grav- 
ity upon germination, 

practicum 355 

Jerusalem 54 

plant 345 

practicums 355 

relationships 345 

rotation 348 

soil 347 

study of plant, practicum 355 

use 351 

varieties 347 

yield per acre 354 

Scab, wheat 97 

Scleria 369 

Scotch barley 326 

Secale ccreale 345 

fragile 345 

montantiin 345 

Seed bed, oats 296 

change of 20 

improved 14 

improved, significance of. 14 
improved, selection, barley 334 

maize, vitality 197 

oats, treatment 301 

selection, oats 299 

selection, oats, influence.. 298 

wheat, quantity 8s 

wheat, size 87 

wheat, treatment 89 

Seeding buckwheat 406 

machinery, wheat 90 

Selection of forms 19 

wheat, improvement by,.. 63 



PAGE 

Senna 369 

Sensitive joint vetch 369 

Sesban macrocarpa 369 

Se-x, in plants, a cause of de- 
lay in knowledge of plant 

breeding 16 

Shocking oats ago 

wheat, effect 104 

wheat, method 105 

Siberian oats 290 

Silage 138, 257 

Silk, maize 146 

Silo 257 

Sirup, sorghum 396 

Sisal 9 

Siiopyros 47 

Sitotroga cerealella 102 

Size of seed, influence on early 
stages of plant growth, 

oats, practicums 316 

Smartweeds 369 

Smut, loose wheat 97 

stinking, wheat 97 

Soft maize 180 

Soil, barley 329 

buckwheat 404 

constituents in wheat, ac- 
cumulation 70 

effect of change on wheat 72 
fertility, relation to bar- 
ley, practicum 343 

fertility, relation to oats, 

practicum 315 

influence on composition of 

wheat grain 44 

influence on maize 208 

influence on oats 294 

influence on rice 361 

influence on rye 347 

influence on sorghum .... 388 

wheat, choice of 71 

Sorghum, climate 387 

collateral reading 399 

composition 384 

crop of the U. S 397 

crop of the world 397 

cultivation 391 

cultural methods 389 

germination 387 

grain 384 

harvesting, method 392 

harvesting, time 392 

history 398 

inflorescence 383 

method of planting 391 

name 382 

plant 383 

quantity of seed 390 

rate of planting 389 

relationships 382 

rotation 388 

saccharatum 382 

seed bed, preparation 389 

sirup 396 

soil 388 



INDEX 



419 



PAGE 

SorRhum, structure, composi- 
tion and varieties 381 

sugar 395 

thrcsliing 393 

time of planting. 389 

use and production 394 

use, danger from 395 

varieties 384 

varieties, improvement of. 386 

yield per acre 398 

Sowing oats, depth 304 

oats, methods 304 

oats, rate 30-3 

oats, time in Northern 

States 303 

oats, time in Southern 

States 303 

oats with field peas 300 

oats with other cereals... 300 

wheat, depth 83 

wheat, time 81 

Spanish needles 243 

Spear grass 369 

Specialties 12 

Species, barley 323 

buckwheat 403 

maize 163 

Sphenofhorns 247 

Sfcrmophiliis 251 

Spike, wheat 32 

wheat, study, practicum... 131 

Spikelet of wheat 3* 

Stalk-borer 247, 250 

Stalks, barren, maize 151 

Staple crops in the U. S 9 

crops in the U. S., changes 

in acreage 9 

Stimulants, plant sources of. . 9 

Stinking smut 96 

Storing maize 252 

wheat 109 

Stover, maize 138 

relationship to grain 143 

Straight indigo 369 

Study of rice plant, practicum 381 

Suckers, maize 142 

Sugar plants, principal divis- 
ions 8 

sorghum 390 

Swedish oats 290 

Sweet maize 180 

Tadpole gras^ 369 

Tartar King oats, varieties. . . 290 

Tartary buckwheat 403 

Tassel, maize 146 

Tea, growth in the U. S 9 

Testing power of specific forms 19 

seed, maize, method 199 

wheat, new strains or varie- 
ties, finding and testing. 66 

Threshing barley 335 

sorghum 393 

wheat 109 

Tillering of wheat 29 



PAGE 

Tillctia corona 37° 

foetens 96 

Time of sowing barley 333 

Tobacco, importance of crop. . 9 

Topping maize 255 

Treatment of seed, influence 
on germination, oats, 

practicum 316 

Tripsacum dactyloides i39 

Triticum 32, 47 

hybcniuin 54 

monococcum 47 

oestiviim 54 

polonicum 47> 54 

sativum 47 

sativum dicoccum 47 

sativum spclta 47 

Tubers, importance of crop... 8 

Turtle back 369 

Types, wheat, practicum 131 

Vrocystis occulta 350 

Use and production, sorghum. 394 

Ustilago avenae 3°^ 

hordei 336 

tritici 96 

zcae 244 

Variation, inducing 19 

from type, practicum 24 

Varieties, barley 323 

barley, two and six-rowed 325 

buckwheat 403 

characteristics, wheat .... 57 

dent maize 176, 177, 178 

dent maize, classification.. 179 

dent maize, list 172 

flint maize, table i58 

maize, improvement 185 

maize, influence of climate 205 

maize, number 182 

maize, silage 182 

maize, two-eared 150 

names, wheat 56 

new, wheat 63 

new, wheat, finding and 

testing 66 

oats 285 

sorghum 384 

sorghum, improvement . . . 386 

wheat, best 55 

wheat, classification 54 

wheat, classification, prac- 
ticum 135 

wheat, foreign 63 

wheat, importaiice of .... 55 
wheat, produced by cross- 
ing 64 

winter and spring barley.. 326 

\'ariety groups, wheat 58 

\\'ater grass 369 

in wheat 38 

maize 159 

weevil 370 

Weeds, wheat 93 

Weevil, granary, wheat 102 

rice 102 



42 o 



INDKX 



PAGE 

Weight per bushel, barley.... 3^1 
Wheat, accumulation of soil 

constituents 70 

aleurone layer 35 

and flour, export 126 

Angoumois grain moth.... 102 

antiquity 130 

artificial hybrids 66 

botanical relations 47 

bran 35 

bread from flour 117 

bulb worm 98, loi, 336 

by-products 119 

by-products, composition.. 119 

change of food value 120 

chinch bug 98, 99 

choice of soil 71 

club, er square head 51 

commercial grades 128 

common 51 

composition 38 

consumption of, per capita 125 

crop of the U. S 122 

crop of the world 121 

cross-fertilization 64 

cross-fertilization law .... 65 

culms 27 

cultivation 92 

culture, reasons 130 

culture, successful condi- 
tions 68 

cultural methods 79 

desirable qualities ....... 59 

drilling vs. broadcasting. . 84 

durum 52 

effects of climate upon 

geographical distribution 68 
effects of climate upon 

growth 69 

effects of climate upon 

quality 68 

Egyptian 52 

eight types 48 

Einkorn 4^ 

elevators : 1 1 

embryo 34 

emmer 49 

endosperm 35 

fertilization, methods .... 73 

fertilizers, amount 76 

fertilizers, applying, time 

and manner "77 

fertilizers, farm manure. . "7 

fertilizers, use 72 

fertilizing constituents, car- 
riers 75 

fertilizing constituents, rela- 
tive importance 75 

finding and testing new 

strains or varieties 66 

flour, grades 115 

flour, graham _ 116 

flour, production 124 

flour, source, amount and 
quality 113 



PAGE 

Wheat, flower of 31 

food for domestic animals 112 

fungous diseases 93, 96 

genus 47 

germination 46 

glume spot 96 

grain 33 

harvester and thresher com- 
bined 108 

harvester, self-binding ... 106 

harvesting and preservation \qz 

harvesting methods 105 

header 107 

Hessian fly 98, 100 

history 130 

importance of crossing... 65 

imports 128 

improvement 66 

improvement by selection . . 63 

improvement of varieties. . 63 

influence of environment. . 44 

insect enemies 93 

insects injurious to stored 

grain 102 

introduction of foreign va- 
rieties 63 

leaves 29 

loose smut 97 

market classification 60 

maturity stage on yield. . . 103 

midge 98, loi 

milling machinery 117 

moth, Mediterranean flour 102 

mulching 78 

new varieties 63 

new varieties, method of 

finding 66 

new varieties, method of 

testing 66 

Nicaragua 53 

nitrogen content, relation 

to weight per bushel... 42 

number of varieties 57 

original habitat 130 

pedigree s6 

physical properties 37 

plant louse 98, 102 

plowing, depth 80 

plowing, time 79 

polish 54 

poulard 52 

practicums 131 

production and marketing. 121 

production, center 124 

production, progress 123 

reaper, self-rake 108 

relation of attributes, prac- 

ticum 136 

reproduction, organs of.... 29 
ripening, influence on com- 
position 104 

rolling 92 

roots 27 

rotation 74 

scab 96, 97 



INDKX 



421 



11,1 '^''^^■ 

Wheat, score card 60 

seed bed, preparing 80 

seed, quantity 85 

seed, size 87 

seed, treatment 89 

seeding machinery 90 

shocking, effect 104 

shocking, method 105 

sowing, depth 83 

sowing, time 80 

species 47 

spelt 49 

^Vi^^, 31, 32 

spikelet 31 

spring and winter '. . 54 

spring varieties, hard 62 

stinking smut 97 

storing 109 

structure 26 

t'»ef 93, 95 

threshing 109 

tillering zg 

types, practicum 131 

uses 112 

varieties, method of de- 
scribing, practicum .... 133 
varieties, through crossing 64 

variety, best 55 

variety, characteristics ... 57 

variety, classification .... 54 

variety, groups 58 

variety, importance of . . . 55 

variety names 56 

weeds . 1 1 . , 1 1 1 93 



,,., PACE 

W licat, weevil, granary 102 

weevil, rice 102 

white varieties 63 

winter and spring 124 

winter killing 70 

winter varieties, hard 61 

winter varieties, soft 61 

wild goose 53 

wolf moth 102 

yield 33 

yield per acre 126 

White grub 247, 248 

\\ iggle-tail 369 

Wild garlic 93, 95 

mustard 95 

Winter killing, wheat 70 

Wire worm 247 • 

Xanthium canadcixsa 243 

spinosum 243 

Yield and value, oats, three 

decades 311 

barley, per acre 331 

buckwheat, per acre 409 

comparative, dent and flint 

maize 184 

maize, per acre 271 

oats, per acre 311 

rice, per acre 379 

rye, per acre 354 

sorghum, per acre 398 

wheat, per acre 126 

Zca mays J38 

Ziamiia aqjiatica 357 

miliaeea . 1 1 ,,,,,,,,,,,, , 357 



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